Why Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids?

Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids: • Is Delaware’s school vegetable garden expert! • Serves over 8,000 students at more than 20 public schools. • Has developed an original program model and a curriculum that supports

Delaware content standards for science while engaging every child in hands-on gardening activities.

• Is the only organization in Delaware to receive the first ever USDA/FNS Farm to School Grant in 2012.The grant allowed us to partner with other or-ganizations to enhance our program with additional nutrition education, the food of the month program, cooking lessons, and farmer visits to schools.

• Effectively uses resources to provide a low cost program with low overhead expenses.

Why is Our Program Needed?

By engaging children in growing and tasting garden vegetables, Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids contributes to:

1. Reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating, 2. Enhancing students’ knowledge of science, and 3. Providing opportunities for outdoor and experiential learning.

1. The Need for Reversing Childhood Obesity

“Why do you think we have a school garden?” We ask the students at each of the schools we visit. In response to this question, Jazi, a fourth grade student from Brader Elementary, said: “I think the garden has a lot of nutri-tious snacks. Also, it can make you strong and healthy.”

Jazi couldn't have said it better. Because eating habits have long term effects on our health, it’s important not only to educate children early about healthy eating, but to expose them to healthy eating options.

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona noted that: “Because of the increas-ing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.1” His message is supported by the statistics:

• Forty percent of Delaware children, ages 2-17, are obese or overweight 2. • Only fifty-one percent of Delaware children eat 5 or more servings of fruits/

vegetables per day 2. • Nationally, overweight and obese individuals costs the U.S. $270 billion an-

nually 3. Recent estimates for Delaware show that medical expenditures re-lated to obesity in the state are more than 207 million dollars a year4.

2. Heightened Science Education

“This makes you feel like you can experiment. I will have a garden when I

A Case for Support

Our Mission: To design and im-plement food and garden-based pro-grams for Delaware schools that support content standards and promote student health.

Our Vision: To inspire and moti-vate youth to devel-op lifelong whole-some eating habits by experiencing the joy of growing, cook-ing, and eating gar-den fresh vegetables.

What part of the plant are the peas? This fourth grad-er is familiar with plant biol-ogy and plant lifecycles from his school gardening experience.

am older. I can experiment more and be a scientist.” ~Marshall Ele-mentary 5th grade student

As suggested by this student, Gardens are a great learning tool for sci-entific observation and investigation. A plethora of studies indicate that gardening activities and green curricula are correlated with achievement gains in science5. In fact, research shows that children who were in-volved in gardening performed better on science tests than a control group without gardening6 .

3. The Need for Experiential Education

“That salad was good, but I usually don’t eat things that come from dirt.” ~Springer Middle School 8th grade student

This statement was from an eight grade student at the beginning of the gardening program. It is important for tomorrow’s leaders to recognize where food comes from before it gets to the grocery store. Through “hands-on learning” in the garden, students are able not only to under-stand where their food comes from, but to experience the process first hand. Studies indicate that students tend to learn more and better when they are actively involved in the learning process and that students in an environment-centered, field-based curriculum had higher assess-ment scores than students in traditional programs7,8.

4. The Need for Outdoor Education

“I liked gardening because it was something different and now I know something else.” ~Marshall Elementary 5th grade student

When we tell students it is time for the outdoor part of the lesson, their eyes light up with excitement. For many students, instruction only oc-curs in the classroom so as this student suggests, gardening is differ-ent, and most importantly an educational experience. Research sup-ports the effectiveness of outdoor education in developing students’ cognitive skills and in improving academic performance9,10. The unequivocal benefit of outdoor education is highlighted by “No Child Left Inside” legislation pending at the national level, and a senate resolution at the state level. In Delaware, a “Children in Nature” Task-force was convened in 2010 by the Secretaries of the Department of Education and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmen-tal Control. The taskforce recommendations were presented to Gover-nor Markell in 2012, and received his wholehearted endorsement. The Delaware Department of Education also recently adopted the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed by the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Achieve, and which emphasize outdoor educational experiences.

What impact does our school garden program have on students?

Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids measures quantitative outcomes of our program that reflect:

• The promotion of healthy eating, and

First grade students carefully plant their seeds after learn-ing about the relationship between the size of the seed

and planting depth.

• A heightened knowledge of science

During program implementation, HFHK generally: • Estimates the amount of vegetables grown each season, • Measures the percentage of children who taste and/or like garden

vegetables or recipes featuring garden vegetables, • Measures children’s science knowledge through pre-and post-test

scores • Solicits feedback from teachers, parents, and students about the

Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids gardening experience.

The Outcomes

Healthier Eating Habits

“I never trusted a turnip, but now that I have, it tastes good. The veggies are delicious! I can’t get enough!” ~Brader Elementary 4th grade student

• At Eisenberg Elementary School, students harvested over 150 pounds of vegetables in the spring of 2013, most of which was con-sumed in the cafeteria, and the rest donated.

• At Springer Middle School, 96% of students who planted and har-vested arugula and radishes ate them.

• Research conducted by Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids has shown that students are more likely to try salad if it is grown in the garden. The percentage of students who tried the “exotic” vegetables (e.g. radishes, turnips, and arugula) increased from 30 to 42 percentage points (e.g. pre-test 32% of students had tried radishes and post-test 64% had tried them.)

• With a group of 43 students at Shortlidge Elementary, 70% of stu-dents reported that the “Oodly Noodly Bok Choy Soup” they tasted as part of a cooking demonstration was yummy.

Ian’s Story

Another student, Ian, a first grader from Downes, was so inspired by his school garden experience that he decided to grow his own radishes at home. He had never had radishes before growing them at Downes, but he loved them so much that he asked for them as a reward, and re-quested to plant them in his garden at home. Although Ian’s family had a vegetable garden at home, according to his mom, he was never inter-ested in gardening until he participated in the school garden program.

Heightened Knowledge of Science

Gardening lessons improve students’ science test scores.

In program outcome analyses, students who participated in the Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids garden program showed a significant increase in performance on science/gardening questions.

• DOW Grant Results (2011): HFHK administered pre- and post-surveys to a cohort of approximately 150 students during three

Ian holding his home grown radishes after experiencing the joy of growing them at

Downes Elementary.

Springer Middle School stu-dents enjoy a healthy a gar-

den-fresh bok choy stir fry.

Plants like arugula can grow back after the initial harvest, providing multiple harvest

growing seasons, which spanned 1.5 academic years. The 4th grade questions pertained to plant life cycles, and the 5th grade questions pertained to ecosystems. HFHK found that students performed significantly better on the questions after participating in the garden lessons. HFHK also surveyed two control schools in the district that had sim-ilar student profiles. There was no significant increase in perfor-mance in the control schools, suggesting that the garden lessons were the source of the improved performance on the science ques-tions.

• Preliminary Farm to School Grant Results (2013): Pre-and post-surveys were administered to 3rd and 4th grade stu-dents, and results showed a significant positive increase in the number of correct answers following the garden program.

Help Children Plant Seeds for the Future

From two school garden programs in 2008 to twenty-one programs in 2014, Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids has accomplished an incredible amount with the help of amazing volunteers, and three dedicated staff members. Just as seeds need sun, water, soil, and air to grow, HFHK needs devoted staff members to deliver and expand our school garden program to children throughout Delaware. As we continue to grow, we plan to offer more pro-gram enhancements such as healthy cooking demonstrations, nutrition edu-cation lessons, and teacher professional development trainings. By helping HFHK reach more students and refine our program, your investment will impact the future of children’s health and science education.

How Can YOU Support HFHK?

Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids appreciates your support. You can help us grow by either making a donation or volunteering in a garden.

To make a donation: Visit our website: www.healthyfoodsforhealthykids.org and click the

“Donate Now” button. Write a check to Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids and send it to: PO Box

847, Hockessin, DE 19707. Donate via your corporation’s United Way pledge drive. Write in Healthy

Foods for Healthy Kids, and include our United Way code: 12479.

To Learn about Volunteer Opportunities: Contact Lindsay Lancaster, 302-220-6998 or llancaster@healthyfoodsforhealthykids.org.

References 1“The Growing Epidemic of Childhood Obesity” Statement of Richard H. Carmona, Surgeon General. 2 Nemours Health and Prevention Services, Delaware Survey for Children’s Health, 2011. 3 Society of Actuaries, News Release, January10, 2011. 4 Building a Healthier Future, Recommendations of the Delaware Council on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, January 2012. 5 The State of Delaware Children in Nature/No Child Left Inside Taskforce Report, October 2012. 6 Dirks, A. E. and Orvis, K., 2005, HortTechnology, 15(3): 443-447. 7 McCormick et al., 1989, Agr. Educ. Mag. 62(4):10–1. 8 Klemmer, Waliczek & Zajicek, 2005, HortTechnology, 15(3): 448 – 452. 9 Eaton, 2000, Dissertation and Abstracts International- Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 60. 10-

A, 3595. 10California Student Assessment Project-The Effects of Environment-Based Education on Student Achievement. San

Diego, CA: State Education and Environment Roundtable, 2000, 2005.

Second grade students know about the benefits of composting plant

waste from their garden.

First graders at High-lands Elementary plant

seeds.

Please give us your hand in supporting our school

gardening program.