As the country prepares to celebrate 250 years since our nations founding, there is no better time than now to designate the apple as the official state fruit of Pennsylvania. By doing so, the commonwealth will be recognized for its essential apple industry and add to the excitement to the celebration. 
 

The research by a middle school student in my district has complimented this effort in recognizing the apple as the state fruit of Pennsylvania. In fact, this young scholar successfully won a statewide contest in which they had to argue in support of a fruit being designated the state fruit. This initiative was created by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and coordinated by Healthy Community Lifespaces in an effort to promote the Pennsylvania State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP).
 

The young researcher supported their arguments with key facts about Pennsylvania history, state apple industry, and its important health benefits. They discovered that history goes back to 1768 when Benjamin Franklin received a batch while on a diplomatic endeavor in London. In regard to today, the student found that apples are grown in all 67 counties, with total production being an astounding 400 to 500 million pounds of apples per year.
 

As the student wrote in their award-winning letter, “An apple isn’t just your everyday fruit, taking a bite from an apple means taking a bite of the meaning of Pennsylvania," they revealed that an apple can lower risks of chronic heart diseases, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure. Furthermore, the fruit holds components that assist with preventing cancer, improving bone health and brain function, and weaken the risk of diabetes. As well as finding key research completed by professionals that link apple consumption to lowering the chance of fatality, comparatively to those that avoided the fruit.
 

I encourage my colleagues to support this initiative in making the apple the state fruit of the commonwealth. This will bring awareness to the benefits of healthy eating and recognize Pennsylvania’s amazing contributions to the country.