Letter: Student diets lack fruits, vegetables

I think it’s wonderful that R.O. Hardin received a $5,000 grant from Ag in the Classroom. School gardens are a step in the right direction towards helping our kids become more aware of how our food is grown and to experience the wonderful taste of fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, many of our kids’ exposure to fruits and vegetables are limited to the processed and bagged type (like the produce served by the school cafeterias). I have spent a great deal of time in the lunch area at my children’s elementary school and have seen the enormous amount of wasted produce thrown away every day. After personally tasting the bagged carrots and celery, I don’t blame them for not eating it! They were dry and flavorless. The problem would be greatly improved if the school district put in a kitchen that meets the sanitation standards required to enable the kids to be served the fresh fruits and veggies which are grown by our local farmers. We do live in the “salad bowl” region after all. It would be more fitting to combine Ag in the Classroom and programs like Harvest of the Month on a large scale, with the students eating the produce from local farmers daily, rather than tasteless bagged produce that end up in the trash.
Kristi Mathews, Hollister