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The USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program makes fruit
and vegetable snacks available at no cost to all children
in participating schools. The program began in 2002 as
a pilot program in a small number of schools. It has since
become a permanent program that was expanded to cover
selected schools in all 50 States, as part of the 2008
Farm Bill.
The Nutrition Programs Title of the 2002 Farm Act provided
$6 million for USDA to award to schools through a Fruit
and Vegetable Pilot Program (FVPP) for the 2002-03
school year. ERS evaluated the pilot based on:
- analyses of administrative school records
- school reports
- site visits to schools
- focus groups and interviews with school staff and
parents
- a conference of pilot program managers, other pilot
staff, and policy stakeholders.
See Evaluation of
the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program: Report to
Congress.
Most schools participating in the pilot considered the
program to be very successful and strongly supported its
continuation. Because the pilot only included schools
that had voluntarily applied to participate, these schools
may not be representative of nonpilot schools. Pilot sites
were, however, chosen to represent a mix of large and
small; rural, suburban, and urban; and elementary, middle,
and high schools. The participating schools also included
students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and family income
levels, based on the proportion of students certified
as eligible for free and reduced-price lunches.
 The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act
made the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program permanent and
expanded it to more States. The 2008 Farm Bill expands
it to all States, along with the District of Columbia,
Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. However, it
will be available in selected schools in each State
based on need—schools in which a high proportion
of students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price
school meals. The current Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). For information about child nutrition program participation, contact the State agencies that administer the program.
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