National data on the diets of U.S. children and adolescents

indicate they are consuming more fat and saturated fat than

recommended while their intakes of fruits and vegetables

fall well below recommended levels. The increasing prevalence of obesity in these age groups adds to concern about

the quality of their diets. Schools can be a venue for 

promoting healthful eating habits among youth not only

because of the schools’ ongoing influence in children’s daily

lives, but also because of the considerable Federal investment in USDA child nutrition programs such as the National

School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. 

Fruits and Vegetables Get High Grades in Pilot

Schools

To promote fresh fruit and vegetable consumption among the

Nation’s schoolchildren, the Nutrition Title of the 2002 Farm

Act provided $6 million for USDA to award to schools

through a Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program for the 2002-03

school year. The pilot provided fresh and dried fruits and

fresh vegetables free to children in 107 elementary and secondary schools—100 schools in 4 States (25 each in Indiana,

Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio) and 7 schools in the Zuni Indian

Tribal Organization in New Mexico. The pilot funds were

allocated to each school on a per student basis of $94 per student. The intent of the pilot was to determine the feasibility

of such a program and students’ interest in participating. As

requested by Congress, the Economic Research Service conducted an evaluation of the pilot. The evaluation was based

on an analysis of monthly administrative school reports,

December reports, February reports, site visits to schools,

focus groups, interviews, and a conference of pilot program

managers, other pilot staff, and policy stakeholders.

The pilot was popular among most students, parents, school

teachers, principals, pilot managers, foodservice staff, and

State representatives. Of the 105 schools reporting on feasibility, 100 schools thought that it would be feasible to continue the program beyond the pilot if funding were continued. Schools reported that 80 percent of students were very

interested in the pilot and 18 percent were somewhat interested; 71 percent of the schools believed that students’ interest had increased during the pilot period.

Four Key Factors in Pilot’s Success

• The level of cooperation, communication, and commitment among principals, teachers, foodservice directors, and other staff was high, perhaps partially

because principals and foodservice directors applied

voluntarily to participate in the pilot. 

• The level of support and partnerships with States and

other nonschool partners was also high. 

• The flexibility of the pilot allowed each school to develop

its own implementation plan, work out problems, have

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Economic 

Research

Service

Agriculture Information Bulletin 792-6 October 2004

The USDA Fruit and

Vegetable Pilot Program

Evaluation

Jean C. Buzby, jbuzby@ers.usda.gov, (202) 694-5370

Joanne F. Guthrie, jguthrie@ers.usda.gov, (202) 694-5373
broad involvement among teachers and other school

staff, and reach its own solutions. Schools could choose

when, where, and how they wanted to implement the

pilot and could select the mix and quantities of pilot

foods to offer students. 

• There was ample funding for the pilot, which allowed

schools to provide higher quality fruits and vegetables;,

value-added products, such as pre-sliced items or individually packaged products (e.g., bagged baby carrots);

and condiments (e.g., dips to accompany vegetables).

Can the Pilot Program Go National?

Some schools were not spending all money granted to them

($94 per student), largely due to the time needed to start and

implement the pilot. Some schools initiated the pilot in

October 2002 while others started as late as January 2003.

Even if schools had fully implemented the pilot the entire

school year, funding for the pilot for the 2002-03 school

year would have been ample. However, many schools said

that the 10-percent cap requirement on paying nonfood

costs (e.g., administrative costs necessary to implement the

pilot, such as extra labor, storage, and equipment) out of

grant money was too restrictive. 

Nationwide expansion of the program at a level comparable

to that of the pilot would cost an estimated $4.5 billion,

based on an average cost of $94 per student and a count of

48.2 million children in public schools in 2001. Costs

would be higher if private schools also participated. These

estimates do not include the costs and burden for USDA’s

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)—the agency responsible

for implementing the pilot—or for State departments of

education and health to administer and support an expanded program. Costs could be lower if all schools offered

fruits and vegetables only once a day.

Information Sources

Buzby, Jean C., Joanne F. Guthrie, and Linda S. Kantor.

Evaluation of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program:

Report to Congress. U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Economic Research Service. E-FAN-03-006, May 2003.

www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan03006

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services. Fact Sheet:

Nutrition Services. From CDC’s School Health Policies and

Programs Study (SHPPS) 2000. Accessed at:

www.cdc/gov/nccdphp/dash/shpps/factsheets/pdf00/

nutrition.pdf. March 13, 2002.

U.S. General Accounting Office. Fruits and Vegetables:

Enhanced Federal Efforts to Increase Consumption Could

Yield Health Benefits for Americans. GAO-02-657. 

July 25, 2002.

2 Economic Research Service / USDA

Agriculture Information Bulletin 792-6

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Source: Nov. and Dec. 2002 monthly administrative reports.

Fruit:

Vegetables:

Dried fruit:

28

19

10

49

16

12

31

21

Raisins 12

Mixed dried fruit

Dried berries

Precut mixed vegetables

Celery

Carrots

Oranges

Precut mixed fruit

Apples

Apples, carrots, and dried berries top list 

for food expenditures

Percent of total cost of category