Fresh fruit, real impact: How SCG-EATS nourishes Park City classrooms

Macey’s employees prepare boxes of fresh fruit for weekly delivery to Park City schools as part of the SCG-EATS Fruit to Schools program. Photo: Summit Community Gardens and EATS (SCG-EATS)

PARK CITY, Utah — Every Monday morning, volunteers with Summit Community Gardens and EATS (SCG-EATS) gather at Macey’s in Pinebrook to pick up boxes of fresh fruit and deliver them to local schools. It’s a simple act, but one that fills a critical gap for students across the Park City School District (PCSD) and Holy Cross Ministries.

The Fruit to Schools program provides weekly boxes of fruit to eight schools, ensuring that children, especially those eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, have access to healthy snacks during the school day. But according to those closest to the program, the impact goes far beyond nutrition.

“Students can get breakfast and lunch through school, but what we learned is they often don’t have anything for snack time,” said Helen Nadel, executive director of SCG-EATS. “Fruit to Schools fills that gap in a way that’s dignified, easy, and effective.”

Each fruit box — packed by Macey’s staff and delivered by volunteers — contains 50 to 60 servings and is distributed at the discretion of school outreach coordinators, who are deeply connected with students and families.

“The intention is that it goes to students who need it most, often kids facing food insecurity, but there’s no gatekeeping,” Nadel said. “We trust the outreach coordinators because they know their students. Sometimes that means a child who forgot a snack that day, and sometimes that means a family takes home a small bag of fruit because they’re going through a rough time.”

At Jeremy Ranch Elementary, outreach liaison Ketzel Morales said Mondays are a highlight. “Kids literally pop into my office and ask, ‘What’s our fruit today?’” Morales said. “They’re excited. They want the fruit. I’ve even had students tell me they prefer oranges or strawberries over granola bars or packaged snacks.”

Morales recalled one student in particular who only ever asked for fruit, not the other snack options she kept on hand. And in more serious moments, students have asked to bring fruit home to support their families during job loss or financial hardship. “I pack them a grocery bag,” Morales said. “They take it home to their parents and siblings. It’s beautiful.”

Since the program began five years ago — originally as an EATS initiative before the 2022 merger with Summit Community Gardens — its reach has steadily grown. Over the course of a 36-week school year, SCG-EATS delivers approximately 288 fruit boxes, totaling an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of fresh produce. Each box often includes seasonal favorites like apples, oranges, strawberries, grapes, or apricots, with a goal of variety and exposure.

“There’s a deeper nutrition education element at play, too,” Nadel said. “We want kids to try new things, to discover that taste buds change and that they actually like blackberries or pears after all.”

Eva Montejano, outreach coordinator at Trailside Elementary, sees the same dynamic unfold at her school. “Some of our students come into my office every Monday and take handfuls of fruit to bring home to their families,” she said. “Others are new to the country, and this fruit is one of the first consistent resources they have.”

Montejano, a mother herself, has also seen the ripple effect in her own home. “My daughter now loves cooking because of SCG-EATS classes. And my son learned from them to say, ‘Don’t yuck my yum’ — he respects food differences. That message really stuck.”

The program is supported by grants from Vail Epic Promise and the Park City Noon Rotary Club. Volunteers, typically community members, transport fruit from Macey’s to drop-off points at Jeremy Ranch and McPolin Elementary, where outreach coordinators then distribute the boxes.

Nadel shared one story that encapsulates the spirit of the program: a third grader, living at the Peace House with a single mother, who came in every Monday looking for fruit. “She said it made her happy because she could help her mom out with groceries,” Nadel recalled. “That’s the quiet power of this program.”

While Fruit to Schools is modest in scale compared to other food insecurity initiatives, its weekly consistency and accessibility make it uniquely effective. “It’s a small program, but for the kids who rely on it, the impact is huge,” Nadel said. “They’re not just getting a snack — they’re getting support, dignity, and something to look forward to.”