.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the state indicator report on fruit and vegetable consumption for the state of Kentucky reveals that 50 % of adolescents only ate on average one fruit or vegetable per day.

     During the school year, various nutrition curriculum were taught through the Owsley County Extension Service, in conjunction with the Owsley County School System.  Professor Popcorn was the curriculum taught in 1^st and 2^nd grades as well as LEAP to Kindergarten students.  The course includes My Plate, food safety lessons as well as proper amounts of physical activity needed per day.

     Throughout the school year, students were given pre-tests before each lesson. Lessons consists of grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy and protein.  Included in these lessons are the amount of food from each group that the child needs daily, along with the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables daily in order to be healthy. With the LEAP curriculum a story is read with each lesson, a healthy snack is prepared for each student and a post-test is given also.

     Of the students who were taught nutrition lessons, nearly 50% improved their knowledge of healthy snacks, they said that after learning about the benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables that they would try to consume more and also vowed to try at least one new fruit or vegetable each week.  The teachers stated that they noticed students had started to consume more of the fruit and vegetable options during lunch.