Last year, Deb Stevens got a kick out of watching her students taste certain fruits and vegetables. Many of them puckered their lips after popping a tart berry into their mouths. They crinkled their noses when they bit into the brown fuzzy skin of a kiwi fruit.

"A lot of them were trying things for the very first time," said Stevens, a fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade special-education teacher at the Middlefork School in Danville. "You could definitely tell by the look on their faces whether they liked it or not."

Students at the Middlefork Regional Safe Schools program, part of the Vermilion Association for Special Education cooperative, were able to snack on fruits and vegetables throughout the school year thanks to a grant.

This year, the school — along with Prairie and Martin Luther King Jr. elementary schools in Urbana — won the competitive Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grant again.

The Illinois State Board of Education will disburse more than $4.7 million in funding to 215 schools throughout the state for the program, which aims to expose students to lifelong healthy eating habits.

"Thanks to these federal funds, more children will have access to a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables during the school day as well as lesson plans that underscore their importance," board Chairman Gery J. Chico said in a news release. "Improved access means it's more likely that children will make smart choices that fuel their brains and bodies ... as we try to reverse the tide of childhood obesity."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture piloted the program in 2002. It was expanded to include all states in the 2008-09 school year.

Nearly 370 schools throughout the state applied for the 2011-12 grant. Each school will be reimbursed on a monthly basis for allowable expenses up to the school's total awarded amount.

The majority of the money must be used to purchase fresh produce for students, which can be served throughout the day. It cannot be used to replace fruits and vegetables already being served to students at breakfast and lunch.

Many schools tie the snacks into classroom activities including math, English, science, health and geography. Some schools have initiated a "Fruit and Vegetable of the Day" program to entice students to try produce to which they might otherwise not have access.

At the Middlefork School, students — whose fresh produce intake usually is limited to apples, oranges, bananas, carrots and celery, Stevens said — have been exposed to kiwi, mangoes, melons, berries, radishes and different types of peppers.

"I thought for sure nobody would like the peppers, but they asked for more," said Stevens, who is eager to introduce students to more exotic fruits this year.

She also wants to teach students how they can grow their own fruits and vegetables in the school's greenhouse. "We might plant some tomatoes and some of the easier things to grow," she said. "They can take the produce home and share it with their families and talk about making healthy eating choices at home."