Healthy Apples Tops With Kids

22/Sep/15 / 15:25

Diets including fresh fruit and vegetables are important for adults and children alike. At the Connecticut Food Bank, we strive to provide fresh produce to help adults stay healthy and to help kids learn and grow. A study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that – by a significant margin – apples are the whole fruit of choice for children in the U.S.

The good news for families who rely on the Connecticut Food Bank for help in putting food on the table is that we are able to provide a significant amount of fresh apples, thanks to the generosity of food growers and retailers who partner with us to share the bounty of the season.

A newspaper story about the study, published in The Hartford Courant on September 22, says the study authors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that apples account for nearly 30% of fruit consumed by children. Nearly two-thirds of those apples are eaten as whole fruit; the remainder from 100% juice products.

The article notes the importance of whole fruits for the added fiber and nutrients it provides and states that, according to the study, whole fruit consumption is as high as 57% of all fruit consumed by children aged 6 to 11. Different age groups have different percentages.

The Connecticut Food Bank gets fresh produce, including apples, from a range of sources, including food growers, distributors and retailers, who partner with us to deliver these items or allow volunteers to harvest apples from their orchards.

Among the orchards with which we have recently worked to harvest apples are:

  • Anderson Acres Farm*
  • Averill Farm
  • Benjamin orchard
  • Blue Hills Orchard
  • Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station*
  • Good Bug Gardens*
  • Hallock Orchard*
  • Hayward Farm
  • Hickory Hill Farm
  • Hindinger Farm
  • Horse Listeners Orchard
  • Lyman Orchards
  • Maple Bank Farm LLC*
  • March Farm
  • Norton Brothers Fruit Farm
  • Palazzi Orchard
  • Silverman’s Farm

Thank you to the growers, retailers and distributors who provide the fresh produce we distribute and to the volunteers who help us get this food to our hungry neighbors in Connecticut.

*harvesting in the current season.