They didn't know that they were about to take part in a healthy eating exercise.

Britney, 4, was given a tortilla chip with some avocado radish salsa on it.

She tasted it.

"Carrots," she said, preferring the vegetable favored by Bugs Bunny.

Thursday was Radish Day at E.K. Powe Elementary, where students sampled radishes and carrots covered in dip in an effort to promote healthy eating.

Jen Minnelli, who founded the slow food committee of E.K. Powe's Parent Teachers Association, and other parents started talking about offering students healthier eating options than reduced fat super donuts in the cafeteria. What came out of that was an education program revolving around gardening.

"This has taken the form of salad parties, where kids pick and wash lettuce straight out of the garden and build their own salads with toppings and dressings donated by parents," she said. "Volunteers have gone into classrooms and done specific taste and nutrition education lessons that are relevant to grade level activities."

When a second-grade class learned about writing a "how to" assignment, a volunteer brought in a juicer and taught students how to make fruit juice.

E.K. Powe's efforts come as school food programs are being tasked with reducing childhood obesity. The problem is that to stay afloat, cafeterias, which are self-sustaining, have to sell unhealthier but profitable items. State legislators are currently working to bring more money to school food programs.

For now, several Durham elementary schools have started fruit and vegetable gardens. Lakewood and George Watts elementary also have such gardens.

Kim Bracey, Britney's teacher, appreciates Minnelli's efforts.

"Kids are used to eating cookies and cake, so when they come here, they try healthy food and they can take that back home," she said. "They say they don't like it, but when they try it, they like it."

It also allows students to try things they may not normally eat, said E.K. Powe Principal Jeanne Bishop.

"Healthy children are happy children," she said.