Blue Watermelon Project Revenue

About Blue Watermelon Project

Blue Watermelon Project, established in 2016, formed to increase access to fresh foods to students in partner schools. Currently serving in 30 partner schools spanning Phoenix and Tucson, Blue Watermelon Project is growing. Our vision. We see a future in which all people have a taste for a diverse array of food, one in which schools have served students fresh and healthy options, families have been given equitable and culturally-appropriate access, and all have been given the knowledge and freedom to be nourished, ready to learn and poised for academic and social success. Why we do it… For roughly 1 million schools in the country, the federal government provides around $3.23 for each lunch served to a student who qualifies for a free meal. After labor and other costs, schools have about one dollar to spend on food. This often results in the purchase of frozen, highly-processed, bottom of the barrel foods that kids are expected to eat and be nourished by. At the same time, studies show an average 17.5% increase in standardized math scores from students who consistently start their day with a healthy meal. Our friends at the Edible Schoolyard have noted that without consistent nutrition education and an overall environment that supports healthy eating, many students are reluctant to accept healthier school food menus; it takes time for students’ palates to adapt to healthier options. With kids spending ⅓ of their day at school, today’s students likely will eat more than 4,000 school meals by the time they graduate from high school. At the same time, children make up 45% (nearly half!) of all SNAP recipients in the home environment and many often rely on their school meal for their entire day’s sustenance (Healthy Schools Campaign, 2017).

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