For many kids, the only thing worse than cleaning your room is being ordered to eat Brussels sprouts.

Yet nearly all 850 students at Gainesville Exploration Academy will give the strange vegetable a try this school year as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

The Gainesville elementary school is one of 54 schools statewide participating in the program that provides schools with a nutritious fruit or vegetable snack every day. The school system received approximately $50,000 from USDA to provide Gainesville Exploration Academy students with healthy snacks that they otherwise may never try, said Gainesville schools nutrition director Tiffany Lommel.

Already Gainesville Exploration Academy students have tasted fresh asparagus, mushrooms, grapefruit, lemons and colorful bell peppers. Before the school year is over, they will try kiwi plus many more of nature's sweet treats.

"We're trying to introduce children to a variety of vegetables to increase consumption," Lommel said.

Apparently, it's working. She said after kids enjoyed cucumbers as a part of their healthy mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, more kids began eating the cucumbers provided in cafeteria lunches.

"Before they had them in their snack program, they weren't as excited about them," she said. "Everything you wouldn't think children would eat, they eat."

As students enjoy their snacks, teachers tell students how the fruit or vegetable is grown, what minerals and vitamins it has and how it helps them to be healthy.

Marnie Hanson teaches third grade at Gainesville Exploration Academy and said she was surprised when her students gobbled up the asparagus. Some even asked for more.

"My class generally eats everything. They eat it all up," she said. "They love their fruit."

Third-grader Jami Phillips said pears, apples and oranges are some of her favorite healthy snacks. She discovered she even likes peppers and mushrooms.

"It was good," she said. "They were delicious. It tastes like chicken."

Lommel said because children have sensitive palettes, they often pick specific foods they like and stick to it. Students often tell her their favorite meals at school are pizza and chicken nuggets. But she's trying to change that.

"I think the younger they are introduced to varieties, the more likely they are later in life to have more of a variety in their diet," she said. "Then they have nutrients to fight colds and for brain power."