Last week, Pine View took part in the Lucky Tray initiative, which is part of a campaign for students to have an increased intake of fruits and vegetables. The campaign was introduced to Sarasota County by Bonnie Joyce, Dietetic Intern of Sarasota County Schools Food and Nutrition Services.
This week-long interactive project was open for all grades at Pine View. It required that students choose a fruit or vegetable, juice not being included, and then proceed to get a raffle ticket, which they put in their respective grade boxes. At the end of each day, Joyce picked either four or five students to win prizes including items such as iTunes gift cards, movie tickets and movie coupons.
As the week came to a close, Joyce said that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “Every day I see that more and more kids are participating which shows that this project is a hit amongst the kids,” she said.
Joyce is a dietetic intern for the county and came up with the program as a part of her credited internship. “I chose to do a project related to fruits and veggies because I wanted to show students that there were other options than juice,” she said.
“I chose Pine View as the school to hold this campaign because I felt like I could make a positive difference here,” Joyce said. She explained that although this was only a week-long campaign, she hopes that she has made a lasting impact.
“I hope that this is not something that changes how the kids eat for one week but rather instills a lifestyle change within the kids,” she said.