After reading a story about how students in Kansas petitioned their legislators to name the sandhill plum the official state fruit of the Sunflower State, students at the elementary school in Madison asked their teacher what Mississippi’s state fruit was. Upon finding out that the state, in fact, did not have a state fruit, Mannsdale teacher Lisa Parenteau teamed up with her students to take matters into their own hands.
The students did research and found that the blueberry is a major crop across Mississippi as over 2,000 acres are used for growing the fruit alone, thus seeming it an appropriate option as the state’s official fruit. Parenteau then pitched the idea to Representative Jill Ford and the legislation was enacted.
Now, the blueberry is just one step away from becoming the official state fruit of Mississippi. After passing the House of Representatives with just one nay vote on Feb. 6, House Bill 1027, authored by Rep. Ford, made its way to the Senate. The legislation went through the Senate Tourism Committee and was sent to a vote on the floor without debate on Thursday, where it passed unanimously with a 52-0 vote.
Now, Governor Tate Reeves will have an opportunity to sign the bill into law and give Mississippi its first-ever official fruit.
Source: supertalk.fm