A pineapple a day keeps kids healthy
As Tahi Te Awa munches on a piece of pineapple, he explains the benefits of eating a piece of fruit once a day.
‘‘It makes you strong,’’ the 8-year-old student at New Plymouth’s Marfell School said. ‘‘It makes you healthy.’’
The school is one of 15 around Taranaki taking part of the Government’s Fruit in Schools initiative this year, which was launched in 2005. Every morning, the students at Marfell School get a piece of fruit each, ranging from apples and pears to strawberries and mangoes. ‘‘I like strawberries, because they’re juicy,’’ Arlandshay Niwa, 7, said. Meanwhile her sister Tania Niwa, 8, was happy eating the pineapple, her favourite fruit.
Lindsey Barr, 8, said tomatoes were his favourite fruit. ‘‘I like the seeds inside,’’ he said.
Principal Janet Wilson said having their daily dose of fruit was important for the students.
‘‘In the early days there were some of our children who had not had some of the fruits that were delivered, like strawberries,’’ she said.
Wilson said the school combined the fruit with the Milk in Schools programme, and used it as a way to keep the students focused. ‘‘We have a 9am till 11am learning block in the morning and that’s a good half-way reason to stop and have a fruit break. So they have fruit and milk and that helps to get them through the bulk of the learning day which is predominantly in the morning,’’ she said.
Eltham School and Te Kura o Nga Ruahine Rangi joined the project last year and Eltham principal Kathryn Pick said it was a no-brainer to be a part of it. ’’We’re very grateful to be involved,’’ she said.
Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman said more than 104,000 students were involved in the programme nationally. ‘‘We’re continuing to get overwhelmingly positive feedback from schools about the success of our Fruit in Schools programme,’’ he said.