Next week school buses will roll once again, but for a special reason — they will be delivering fresh produce to students at 68 select elementary campuses as a part of a new produce delivery program.
Fresh Bus school buses will provide weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables to several locations in each school community, making fresh produce directly available to more than 36,000 students.
The initiative is funded by a grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program and coordinated by a collaboration between HISD’s Nutrition Services and Transportation Services.
“We’ve worked hard over the last two months to ensure our students and their families continue to have access to good food despite schools being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “This program is another way to keep that momentum going.”
The Fresh Bus produce delivery program launched Tuesday, May 26, and is expected to run through the end of July.
Students enrolled at participating schools are eligible, but parents must complete a registration survey for each child participating in the program. After completing the survey, they will be notified by phone with their confirmed pick-up time.
“The Fresh Bus is an innovative way to ensure our students have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, which is especially important now as we look at ways to stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nutrition Services Officer Betti Wiggins said. “This program helps lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle for our students.”
When picking up produce, families are required to follow signage and directions from bus attendants, who will be on site to ensure safe pedestrian traffic and appropriate social distancing at the pick-up site.
For more information on the program, visit www.houstonisd.org/freshbus, or call 713-556-2473 or 713-556-2981 between 6:30 a.m. and noon. Messages left after noon or on days when the district is closed will be returned the next business day.
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Fresh Bus: Good Food Brought Home to You Participating Schools |
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| Alcott ES | Atherton ES | Barrick ES | Bastian ES |
| Benavidez ES | Benbrook ES | Blackshear ES | Bonham ES |
| Braeburn ES | Briscoe ES | Browning ES | Bruce ES |
| Burbank ES | Burnett ES | Burrus ES | Codwell ES |
| Cook ES | Coop ES | Durkee ES | Eliot ES |
| Foster ES | Franklin ES | Frost ES | Gallegos ES |
| Garcia ES | Garden Villas ES | Golfcrest ES | Gregg ES |
| Halpin Early Childhood Center | Hilliard ES | Hobby ES | J.R. Harris ES |
| Kennedy ES | Lockhart ES | Looscan ES | Mading ES |
| McGowen ES | McNamara ES | Milne ES | Mitchell ES |
| Nat Q. Henderson ES | Northline ES | Oates ES | Osborne ES |
| Paige ES | Peck ES | Petersen ES | Pleasantville ES |
| Port Houston ES | R.P. Harris ES | Reynolds ES | Robinson ES |
| Rodriguez ES | Ross ES | Rucker ES | Sanchez ES |
| Scarborough ES | Shadydale ES | Shearn ES | Sherman ES |
| Thompson ES | Tinsley ES | Wesley ES | Whidby ES |
| White ES | Whittier ES | Woodson ES | Young ES |