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Grow It, Eat It: Local Middle Schoolers Plant Fruit Trees On Campuses

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Students at Jerry D. Holland Middle School get a lesson in "Fruit Tree 101" Monday, December 5, 2011 (Photo courtesy Stretch Island Fruit Co.)

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It's pretty simple: Kids who know where good food comes from are more likely to eat it. And fruit, well, it happens to grow on trees. To help get some Los Angeles-area kids familiar with fruit and how it grows, San Diego-based Stretch Island Fruit Co. brought their "Fruit Tree 101" program up north earlier this week to help get over 70 fruit trees planted on campuses.

Students at Markham Middle School, Odyssey Charter School and Jerry D. Holland Middle School got a firsthand lesson in nutrition and the environment on Monday, December 5, and then they got their hands dirty and took part in the planting.

Stretch Island explains how this project, done with the help of the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, affects kids: This national, grassroots program addresses important issues like caring for the environment and proper nutrition by providing students with an outdoor classroom where they can foster fruit trees and shrubs - from planting to harvest.

Enjoy the fruits (couldn't resist) of your labors, kids!

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