Updated: 08/16/05

ATLANTA, Aug. 15 (UPI) --

Atlanta-area schools this year are providing students with free breakfasts and extra servings of fruit and vegetables to boost student performance.


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the free breakfasts will be provided at the 13 Fulton County schools that have failed to meet state testing standards. The extra fruit and veggies will be available in all school cafeterias.

"We were trying to think outside the box and be as supportive of student achievement as we could," Tricia Durham, nutrition director for the Fulton schools, told the newspaper.


At the under-performing schools, teachers will also be handing out extra snacks like fruit or fruit juice to students on test days.


Most schools in Georgia began the new school year Monday.


The Journal-Constitution reports that Fulton County, the state's fourth-largest school district, is the first to experiment with food as a performance-enhancer. But other districts have programs in place, including Hillsborough County in Florida where all schools offer free breakfasts regardless of student income.