Veggie- and turkey-sub-loving students in Blacksburg will get a chance to meet a television celebrity -- and healthful eating guru -- Friday. Jared Fogle, the weight-loss posterboy and spokesman for Subway, will visit Margaret Beeks Elementary School at 2 p.m. for a schoolwide assembly.

Fogle regularly tours schools to talk with students about proper eating habits. He also will visit a Virginia Tech class taught by Beek's PTO president, Chris Neck, who is also an associated professor in management at Tech.

The elementary school doesn't have a formal heathful eating program, Principal Micah Mefford said, but he sees Fogle's visit as a way to ramp up smaller, in-class lessons.

"We've been trying to encourage kids to walk after school and things like that," he said. "Still, it's nice for them to hear the message from someone they see on TV."

Mefford said he's looked into the sandwich shop's program aimed at creating young, healthy eating, but he has not settled on using it.

Blacksburg elementary to host tailgating fundraiser

Margaret Beeks will host a "family-friendly tailgate" Saturday before Virginia Tech's football game against Furman. The tailgate, which will feature inflatable games and food but no alcohol, is funded by a partnership grant with the town of Blacksburg and Tech. Beeks is considered a pilot spot, but other elementary schools could be added, said Principal Micah Mefford.

The program, depending on the weather, is likely to take place throughout the season's home games.

Admission to games at the tailgate is $5, and parking is $5. Most of that money will be used to sustain the tailgate, Mefford said, but a small portion could also help the school in other fundraising efforts.

The school is looking to build a covered walkway for kindergarten students who walk to the school's main building for special classes, such as art. The walkway, estimated to cost about $42,000, is expected to be complete next fall, Mefford said.

Anna L. Mallory covers events and issues affecting Montgomery County schools and beyond. If you have information you'd like featured, e-mail anna.mallory@roanoke.com. You also can visit Chalk Dust, the New River Valley's education news source, at blogs.roanoke.com/chalkdust.