West Virginians should choose the apple more often than the Big Mac if they want improved collective health.

If you ask any third-grader in the state which is healthier, they'll choose the apple every time, according to Jeff Olson, director of the Family Nutrition Program with the WVU Extension Service.

The program, located in 43 counties statewide, is an umbrella for several projects that teach good nutrition, along with shopping for and preparing healthier foods.

"Knowledge is not always reflected in how we choose what we eat," Olson said.

The state's adult obesity rate is trending downward slightly, and now stands at about 29.5 percent according to the most recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, he said.

As the adult obesity rate levels off, requests for food from the Mountaineer Food Bank in Braxton County have remained steady.

The food bank serves soup kitchens, food pantries, senior nutrition sites, daycare centers and shelters in 48 counties in West Virginia, according to Executive Director Carla Nardella.

A lot of the food used by the food bank is from food drive donations by companies and grocery stores. Nardella said she has seen those donated items become more nutritious over the years. Four or five years ago, the bank had a warehouse full of cereal, but now offers fresh vegetables, fruits and meat to clients.

In essence, the state's poorest residents may have a better chance to receive more nutritional food than busy 9-to-5ers on the run.

Olson said the foods most West Virginians often eat aren't wrong. The problem is the amount they eat. That has led to the state having higher rates of heart disease and diabetes than most other states.

"The success we're trying to accomplish is changing behaviors," he said. "You can educate just about anyone on anything, but in nutrition and health you see a disconnect between knowledge and practice."

The food bank serves 494 feeding programs, creating a network that makes it possible for food pantries to feed the people they serve on a daily basis.

She said food pantry managers have noticed a change since the economic recession hit.

"They're telling me there are a lot of new faces at their pantries and it's the working poor people who have full-time jobs," she said.

"They have several people depending on one income in a household. They will put gas in the car to get to work the next week and go to a food pantry."

She wanted to emphasize that food drives are popular around the holidays, but right now is when donations are most desperately needed.

"If people are struggling and things are tight already, it gets worse in the summer months when the children are at home," she said.