Fruit Table at Avondale West

What better way to begin the school day than with an apple, orange or grapes. That’s what students at Avondale West Elementary saw this week when they arrived at school and found a fruit table with two kinds of apples, oranges and grapes for sale.

The fruit table is a one week experiment. It was the idea of 3rd grader Josephine Curls, a member of the Avondale West Health Council. One student from each of the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms make up the health council which was formed last fall. “We noticed a lot of cupcakes, a lot of snacks and we wanted to help get the awareness going that you can still eat healthy and have it taste good,” said parent volunteer Traci Routsong. “ The health committee has come up with all sorts of things they want to do. They put up posters about healthy eating. They are thinking about having a fun run.”

The health council surveyed students about their favorite fruit before deciding what to sell. So what do students think about having fruit to eat before school? “We have been selling a lot. It’s really fun,” said Curls, who was sitting behind the fruit table. Why is it important? “Because people need to eat healthy fruits and vegetables, really healthy,” said Curls.

What happens after this week? “We have had a lot of parents ask about after school snacks because we have a lot of after school activities. The health committee will meet to see if it is cost effective since we buy all the fruit. Then we’ll see about a fruit table either before or after school,” said Routsong.