A new standards-based mathematics programme will help third and fourth-grade US students to learn more maths and eat more fruit and vegetables.

The new Crunch the Numbers programme has been made available to teachers in grades three and four across the country this month. Sponsor PMA is providing a significant financial contribution over four years to the Produce for Better Health Foundation’s (PBH) Campaign for Children’s Health to create and distribute the programme, which was designed and is now being distributed by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company.

The four-year Crunch the Numbers programme includes both print and online components. In the first year, 10,000 printed InSchool programmes will be mailed to third- and fourth-grade teachers, reaching 300,000 students and 450,000 parents; another 100,000 teachers will receive an email encouraging them to access the curriculum materials online.

The free materials will also be available for download online at www.scholastic.com/crunchthenumbers. Over the next four years, the print programme will reach a total of 70,000 teachers, two million students and 3m family members - and even more will be able to access it online.

The programme incorporates a teaching guide and colorful wall poster for use in the classroom, along with student handouts to be sent home to parents. The materials meet national standards for third- and fourth-grade level maths and health and provide fun, interactive ways for students to build skills and understanding in these important areas. Snack Time addition and subtraction activities and the Rainbow Fruits and Vegetables pie chart reinforce the critical healthy eating message of the Fruits & Veggies - More Matters campaign that eating more fruits and vegetables really does matter. The programme materials also incorporate food-safety messages that are levelled for age appropriateness from the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE). The programme will be refreshed each year to ensure that it remains current and appealing.

“This curriculum helps teachers teach critical maths skills, while encouraging students to develop healthy fruit and vegetable eating habits for a lifetime,” said PMA vice-president of government and public affairs Kathy Means. “It encourages children to experience firsthand how much fun great-tasting fruits and vegetables are to eat, so that they gain life-long healthy eating habits.”

PBH president Elizabeth Pivonka said: “This is a critical age to reach children with our message that ‘more matters’, while they are still forming their food preferences and eating habits. Scholastic, a world leader in educating children and pre-eminent in schools coast to coast, is the perfect partner for this programme.”

PMA is encouraging its members to also spread the word about the curriculum with third- and fourth-grade teachers in their communities and markets, and will provide members with the tools to do so in the near future.

Means noted that the programme provides an opportunity for produce companies to reach out to their community, to establish a more personal relationship with teachers, students and their families. She reported that recent consumer research conducted for PMA found that consumers place high value on such connections, as indicated by their growing interest in buying locally grown produce. “The more teachers our members can reach, the more young fruit and vegetable eaters - and more healthy families - they can help create,” said Means.