The Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
- The USDA instilled this program to offer a wider array of fresh fruits and vegetables to schools across the nation.
- It funds 50 million dollars to 43 states, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands, and Guam to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables for schools.
- Unfortunately, this program has many limitations.
- More states are joining the program, and the budget stays the same; meaning that each state is getting less money each year to spend for healthy foods for their schools.
- Many items are available only regionally, which limits the variety of produce available.
- Using DOD produce is much more expensive than using local farms in the community to provide healthy fruits and vegetables to our children.
The program's budget cannot be easily increased because of the federal deficit, so we are proposing alternatives to start serving healthier lunches without the additional cost.