More Nutrition Education Coming to EMCSD Schools

El Monte City School District (EMCSD) expands its Fresh Fruits & Vegetables programs to seven schools, providing additional nutrition education opportunities to more students across the district. This is all possible through a grant EMCSD received as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) national Fresh Fruit and Vegetables program. 

 

The USDA awards state education departments funding for elementary nutrition education. Last year, New Lexington and Wilkerson received the grant. EMCSD reapplied this year, and the California Department of Education awarded Columbia, Cortada, Potrero, New Lexington, Shirpser, Wilkerson, and Wright as 2025-2026 recipients. 

 

The goal of the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Program is to introduce children to different varieties of fresh produce and to increase overall acceptance and consumption of fresh, unprocessed food among children. “California is a major agricultural state, so we are always trying to source fresh ingredients locally for our meals,” explained EMCSD Director of Nutrition Services, Jenny Lee. “The reason we applied for these grants is to help us incorporate more educational components into the work we do every day.”

 

So far this year, students have been taste-testing and learning about different produce during recess time. EMCSD’s Nutrition Services team sets up mobile carts that feature a weekly produce. Since the start of September, EMCSD students have tried turnips, strawberries, blood oranges, baby spinach, and pluot (a hybrid fruit that is part plum and apricot). Three times a week, students line up to try a new fruit or vegetable, then hold discussions about flavors, texture, and learn nutritional facts about each item. 

EMCSD also has a Farm to School Grant courtesy of the California Department of Agriculture, which the district has used to provide 3rd-grade study trips to local farms. This year includes trips to farms hosting pumpkin patches, which two schools have already confirmed to attend. EMCSD leverages the Farm to School Grant to provide specialized programming and nutrition education for Head Start (preschool students), Before & After School programming, and their Opportunity Program.

 

These grants have opened many creative doors for EMCSD’s Nutrition Services team. Whether it is curriculum-based Harvest of the Month initiatives or using taste-testing to enhance menu options for all students districtwide, all of these initiatives outline the importance of consistent nutrition funding from both the state and federal levels. The taste-testing has been extremely valuable as EMCSD’s nutrition team uses them to decide which produce is popular with students and find ways to incorporate them into their menu items, especially scratch cooking.

 

An emphasis on scratch cooking has been a major initiative for EMCSD, investing in both resources and training so staff can be empowered to introduce new dishes to students. For this month’s Hispanic Heritage Month, EMCSD had chicken pozole on the menu. Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew that features dried corn kernels (hominy) and a protein. They will also have enchiladas that feature sauce made from guajillo peppers that their nutrition team prepares from scratch. EMCSD also shared that their goal is to bring Children’s Farmers Markets to all schools this year, which will be sponsored by both grants, giving every school equitable access to enhanced nutrition education.