McIntire to offer daily dose of healthy snacks

Raw carrots are among the food items on 5-year-old Collin Henson's tray Friday as he prepares to eat lunch at Bush Elementary School. Starting this fall, McIntire Elementary School will serve raw fruits and vegetables every day as an afternoon snack. The school was given a grant from the USDA to provide students with healthy snacks.
Raw carrots are among the food items on 5-year-old Collin Henson's tray Friday as he prepares to eat lunch at Bush Elementary School. Starting this fall, McIntire Elementary School will serve raw fruits and vegetables every day as an afternoon snack. The school was given a grant from the USDA to provide students with healthy snacks.

Though children are often told at home to "eat your vegetables," now those who attend McIntire Elementary may start hearing the same at school.

Beginning this fall, McIntire Elementary School will serve up fresh fruits and vegetables every day as an afternoon snack for students. This will be possible through a grant recently awarded to the school.

Rhonda Fletcher, director of food service for Fulton Public Schools, applied for the grant through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She said schools with a high percentage of students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program are chosen. The grant - providing nearly $19,000 - is a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.