1st in USA: George Putnam School (Roxbury, MA). ⢠DeWitt Clinton Park in Hell's Kitchen (New York City, NY). 1900-1950. â¢USDA: more than 75,000 school ...
AA/EEO Institution
mwcc.edu
By Amanda Suzzi
Overview Fruit and vegetable intake amongst children is inadequate. Improving children’s desire to taste vegetables is thought to be the first step in developing healthier consumption patterns. When children grow food themselves, it increases access to vegetables and decreases children’s reluctance to try new foods. Even though a historical lack of funding has impeded the adoption of school gardens, edible education encourages students in healthy nutrition by promoting an appreciation of growing fresh vegetables which encourages students to replace junk food from their diets and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
History
1860-1900
• Austria and Sweden: each school must provide a garden • 1st in USA: George Putnam School (Roxbury, MA) • DeWitt Clinton Park in Hell’s Kitchen (New York City, NY)
Research Nonetheless, one striking and robust result emerged: gardening increased vegetable consumption in children, whereas the impacts of nutrition education programs were marginal or nonsignificant.” Specifically, “the gardening group exhibited the most significant outcomes, with increases reported in nutrition knowledge, preference for vegetables, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, and the combined measure of fruit and vegetable consumption”. Source: Langellotto, G.A., Gupta, A. Gardening increases vegetable consumption in school-aged children: A meta-analytical synthesis. Horttechnology. 2012;22:430–445
Positive Impacts Environmental attitude
81%
Community spirit
64%
Social skills/behaviors
64%
Leadership skills
49%
Attitude towards school
58%
Sense of volunteerism
57%
Health and nutrition
67%
Motor skills
31%
Academic gains Other
30% 15%
Source: Hendrix, Sarah, and John Fisher "2014 California School Garden Survey." Life Lab 2014 California School Garden Survey. 2014. Web.
Conclusion
1900-1950
1950-2015
•USDA: more than 75,000 school gardens by 1906 •WWI victory garden tagline: “A Garden for Every Child. Every Child in a Garden.” •WWII: VP Henry Wallace said “On a foundation of good food we can build anything. Without it we can build nothing.”
• Focus moved from agriculture to technology. • In the early 1990s, the Edible Schoolyard in Berkley, California, spearheaded by Alice Waters revived interest in the school garden movement.
In conclusion, fruit and vegetable intake amongst children is insufficient, but the first step in developing healthier eating behaviors is improving children’s desire to try new foods through school gardens. Edible instruction supports students in healthy nutrition, promotes an admiration of gardening, and encourages children to uphold a healthy daily life. Let’s change the course of our future, starting with the kids.
“Changing the food culture must begin with our children, and it must begin in the schools…To change our children’s food culture, we’ll need to plant gardens in every primary school, build fully equipped kitchens, train a new generation of lunchroom ladies (and gentlemen) who can once again cook and teach cooking to children.” Source: Pollan, Michael. "Farmer in Chief." The New York Times 11 Oct. 2008. Print.
