Fostering healthy eating habits at a young age

A pitaya may not be in everyone’s kitchen but students at Heximer Avenue Public School became very familiar with the exotic fruit this year.

Students were invited to have a taste of a pitaya, also known as dragon fruit, along with other fruits and vegetables thanks to support from the Metro Green Apple School Program.

“They had the opportunity to try a variety of fruits and vegetables that they may not have had exposure to at home,” said Sherry Storrey, principal at Heximer.

The program, offered by grocery retailer Metro, promotes healthy eating habits by encouraging students to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their daily meals and snack routines.

At Heximer, for example, a teacher hosted “tasting sessions,” offering both traditional and exotic produce to kids.

“It really took off because the kids started talking about it at home and some of them would bring in fruit from their culture that we might not be familiar with here in Niagara,” Storrey added.

This year, the Metro Green Apple School Program awarded $1,000 each to 500 schools and challenged teachers to find engaging ways to teach their students about healthy eating.

“Every year, our initiative helps young people from 500 elementary and high schools across the province learn to cook and discover new flavours, while increasing their fruits and vegetable intake and learning valuable healthy lifestyle lessons which they’ll carry throughout their lives,” said Sadie Weinstein, spokesperson for Metro Ontario Inc.

Now in its sixth year, the program has supported a variety of school projects including breakfast clubs and school gardens.

The Niagara Falls school was one of a number of local schools that benefited from the initiative.

Other participating schools included James Morden Public School and Victoria Public School in Niagara Falls, Parnall Public School and St. Theresa Catholic Elementary School in St. Catharines, Ecole Confederation Secondary School in Welland and St. John Bosco Catholic Elementary in Port Colborne.