Orazietti dishes $450,000 for fruit and vegetables

NEWS RELEASE

DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP

************************ Orazietti announces $447,250 for healthier children in the Sault and area

McGuinty government expands Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program to include Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma

Sault Ste. Marie — The McGuinty government continues to support student health by extending and expanding the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program in Northern Ontario with a $447,250 investment in the Algoma Public Health Unit.

During the 2007/2008 school year, selected elementary schools in the Sault Ste Marie region will be receiving receive weekly servings of fruit and vegetables to promote healthy eating, David Orazietti, MPP announced today.

"With this investment we are providing healthy, nutritious snacks to children in our community that may not otherwise be available to them," said Orazietti.

"Encouraging kids to adopt a healthy lifestyle, including positive snack choices, will help them mature into physically fit adults and ease the strain on our health care system in the future," he said.

During a visit with the students, teachers and staff at Ben R. McMullin School in Sault Ste. Marie, Orazietti made the program expansion announcement on behalf of Jim Watson, Ontario’s health promotion minister and Premier McGuinty.

"Developing healthy eating habits in young children is critical to their health and well-being," said Watson.

"That’s why the McGuinty government has made a commitment to continue the Ministry of Health Promotion’s Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program in Northern Porcupine and expand the popular program into the Algoma region," he said.

This initiative promotes awareness and increases consumption of fruits and vegetables among young people and in 2007/2008, the $447,250 program will run in 25 schools in the Sault and area.

Approximately 5,000 children will be provided with two to three servings of fruit and vegetables each week, as well as an education-based program on the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption.

Today’s local announcement is part of the $900,000 Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program that was started in the Northern Porcupine Region.

In total, the program serves 12,000 students at 61 elementary schools.

"As the pilot location for the program, we worked very closely with a variety of partners and look forward to sharing our experiences and best practices with our counterparts in the District of Algoma Public Health who will be responsible for the implementation of the program in Algoma," added Dr. Dennis Hong, acting medical officer for the Porcupine Health Unit.

Northern Ontario was chosen based on statistics showing the lack of variety in children diets and the percentage of overweight two-to-six-year-olds in this region as well as the fact that 62 percent of children aged 12-to-19 do not eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

The Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program is run in cooperation with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, the Porcupine Health Unit, the District of Algoma Public Health Unit, local schools and school boards.

The Ministry of Health Promotion was established to improve and deliver programs that contribute to healthy living and wellness in this province.

Key priorities include Ontario’s smoke-free strategy, healthy eating, active living, sport and recreation, injury prevention and mental health promotion.

Photo caption: Olivia Keenan and Hunter Dini, students at Ben R McMullin Public School, with MPP David Orazietti.

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