With the support of creative parents and enthusiastic staff, Cindy Womack, a nurse at The Rice School in the Houston Independent School District (HISD), is changing the way students at the district's magnet school for technology and Spanish think about fruits and vegetables. Womack has launched two complementary campaigns that encourage students to eat more and varied produce at school.

The Rice School's Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) committee, which includes Womack, another nurse and the school's P.E. teacher, launched Fabulous Fruit Fridays last year. It is a unique program designed to promote good nutrition to students, families and staff. The initiative requires everyone on campus – including students and staff members – to bring whatever piece of fruit they choose to school on the last Friday of every month. On Fabulous Fruit Fridays, the last morning announcement directs everyone to eat what they brought, ensuring students and staff start their day with a healthy piece of fruit. Fabulous Fruit Fridays is doing very well and is very effective. The faculty's enthusiastic support of the program has a lot to do with its success. “Some teachers bring extra fruit for those who forget,” Womack said. “Another teacher makes fruit salad out of everyone's fruit, and they all eat it together. They make it fun for themselves and the kids.”

Once Fabulous Fruit Fridays became an established hit, Womack and her colleagues were inspired to organize a second initiative. A parent read about Pack Assorted Colors for Kids (PACK) Week and suggested the CATCH team give it a try. During PACK Week, students are encouraged to pack fruits or vegetables that match colors assigned to the days of the week. “A sample schedule might go something like this,” Womack explained. “Monday is yellow, and the coordinating vegetable is corn. Tuesday is orange, and the coordinating vegetable is a carrot. Wednesday is white, and the coordinating fruit is a pear. Thursday is red, and so on.” The predetermined fruits or vegetables are also served in the cafeteria that week, which allows kids who buy their lunch to participate. Womack recognized PACK Week as a natural extension of Fabulous Fruit Fridays and began working with her colleagues to set it in motion. “Our main goal is to promote a balanced diet, so it makes sense to encourage students, staff and families to eat a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables,” Womack said.

PACK Week is scheduled at the end of the month to coincide with Fabulous Fruit Fridays. “It makes sense because the two programs really complement one another,” Womack said. Prior to PACK Week, parents and staff receive automatic phone calls and e-mails announcing the predetermined fruits or vegetables they should bring to school each day. The PACK schedule is also listed in the school's newsletter. At The Rice School, Womack and the cafeteria staff decided to designate PACK choices according to what the cafeteria was already scheduled to serve that week as opposed to planning the PACK foods first and asking the cafeteria to alter its menu to include them. Womack said, “This makes it doable. It is easy for everyone. Instead of planning ahead, we just highlight what is already being served.”

Hurricane Ike interrupted PACK Week's momentum, but Womack has high hopes the program will take off. “PACK is new,” Womack said. “We just had our second one. I'm sure the program will be stronger next semester after some repeating and reiterating. The awareness is already there.”