Students from Floyd C. Fretz Middle School won $500 on Tuesday after presenting a healthy eating program in front of a Buffalo Bills player and NFL executives as part of a school nutrition and exercise program.

Ten students, with three advisers, proposed an Innovation Challenge project that would create an after-school snack program for students who participate in such activities as sports, band, musicals, Science Club and the YMCA 21st Century program. Snacks and dairy products would include yogurt, cheese, granola bars, fruit, vegetables and water.

Students made a three-minute pitch and then answered questions from the judges, TV personality Gia Peppers and Buffalo Bills legend Thurman Thomas.  

Fretz Middle School competed with students from Western New York. The event was sponsored by the Buffalo Bills; Fuel Up to Play 60, a school nutrition and exercise program; and the National Dairy Council.