NATCHEZ &8212; The fruit and vegetable connoisseurs over at Frazier Primary can tell you all about the kumquat.

But their knowledge doesn&8217;t end with the sour, then sweet fruit, and they aren&8217;t done learning yet.

The school applied for and received a federal fruit and veggie grant, which pays for a new healthy snack every day for the first- and second-graders.

Snack time comes at 10 a.m. each day, and students take a short break from their schoolwork to munch and learn. While they eat, the teachers tell them a little about the fruit or vegetable, such as what vitamins it contains and where it&8217;s grown. Counting seeds even ties in a quick math lesson, said Joyce Griffin, school nurse and program coordinator.

The $42,772 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture&8217;s Food and Nutrition Services goes to 25 schools in each state each year. Frazier is the only Natchez school to receive the grant so far. The program will last until the end of the school year.

Griffin said the primary goal of the program is to start healthy eating patterns and fight obesity.

&8220;The fruit and vegetables they get at school will sometimes be the only fruit and vegetables they get,&8221; she said. &8220;Fast food restaurants have really become our lifestyle. This introduces fruits and vegetables they would normally not get at home.&8221;

The list for the rest of the year includes kiwi, pomegranates, rutabagas, honeydew melons, cauliflower, purple cabbage and of course the basics &8212; apples, oranges and bananas.

&8220;We want to make sure they look at the whole picture,&8221; Griffin said. &8220;We are teaching a healthy way of living, using the food pyramid and exercise.&8221;

For the most part, the children are always willing to at least try the strange looking fruits, she said.

&8220;(If they don&8217;t,) the teacher asks, why aren&8217;t you eating, and the other children eat and say it&8217;s good,&8221; she said. &8220;So, they&8217;ll try.&8221;

The kumquat did take a little coaxing though, and Griffin got on the intercom and told the children about the fruit, promising it would soon taste sweet, she said.

And they liked it, most of the first-graders in Andria January&8217;s class said.

&8220;It was sour, but after you chewed it became good,&8221; 6-year-old Nadia McGrew said. &8220;It was yellow and green.&8221;

Griffin said she&8217;s hopeful the program is building a foundation the children will fall back on as they grow.

&8220;If you can take a child and train this child now as they get older they will remember,&8221; she said. &8220;And they go home and tell their parents, so their parents are also learning.&8221;

The grant pays for the food, books and information the teachers use to teach about the fruits and vegetables and three part-time workers who come in each morning to wash and prepare the foods.

So far, the favorites among the children are cantaloupe, carrots and oranges.