Del Monte visits Sun City for nutrition lesson

Del Monte Fresh recently gave more than 525 students and teachers at Sun City Elementary in Bossier City, Louisiana, a very special visit. A truckload of Del Monte fresh fruit and active fruit games was delivered to the school for an entertaining and delicious afternoon. The elementary school was selected for the event because it was one of the top winners in all of North America with seven teachers winning in Del Monte Fresh Produces' "Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms" online contest. At the event, students ate all the Del Monte fresh bananas, pineapples, and melons they could eat while learning about the importance of eating healthy.
By collecting thousands of online votes from friends and family, Sun City Elementary teachers won in the "Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms" contest. Each teacher won $750 in cash to purchase school supplies and $250 in Del Monte fresh fruit coupons for classroom snacks and to use in fruit educational activities.

"The teachers, parents, friends and family of Sun City Elementary worked very hard to win in our "Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms" promotion and we are thrilled to treat them to an afternoon of fruit fun and healthy living education. Our mission is to help school children eat and live healthier and what better way to do that than provide them with this fun event," said Dennis Christou, Vice President, Marketing, North America for Del Monte Fresh Produce.
"It's wonderful for our students to be treated to Del Monte fresh fruit and learn about the benefits of eating healthy with fun games. Childhood obesity a big problem in our community and many kids don't get an opportunity to eat healthy. We hope sampling all this delicious fruit will encourage our students ask their parents to pack them fresh fruit instead of chips or cookies in their lunches," said Jackie Pease, a Sun City teacher and "Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms" winner.

"We are honored to have Del Monte Fresh Produce visit our school. Public schools like ours are experiencing severe budget cuts and all of our teachers pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets. The Del Monte Fresh Produce contest was great for us because it did not involve hours of grant writing. With the help of Facebook, friends and family our teachers got people all over the country and internationally to vote for them online to win," said Kim Tuminello, Vice Principal, Sun City Elementary.
Del Monte Fresh Produces' "Teacher Monday" program was designed to encourage teachers to incorporate healthy eating messages into their curriculums and to take some of the financial burden off teachers, many who pay for school supplies out of their own pockets. The online contest will be held again for the 2011-12 school year. Teacher registration will begin this summer and the contest will begin in September.