Partnering to Cultivate 5 A Day via School Gardens

Establishing healthy eating behaviors early in childhood can play a major role in delaying or preventing the onset of obesity and chronic disease in adulthood. The 5 A Day for Better Health Program offers unique opportunities to encourage children to consume 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Through partnerships with schools and local community groups, many channels to promote the 5 A Day message exist; however, attempts to change environmental factors such as access to vegetables and fruits, requires an innovative approach to intervention. School or school-based community gardening efforts have great potential to expose children to a wealth of opportunities for access, learning, and behavior change. In this Phase I project, Klein Buendel will partner with The Produce for Better Health Foundation, Slow Food USA, Cooperative Extension, school districts and teachers to determine the feasibility of developing a school gardening curriculum to increase physical activity for children and intake of 5 A Day foods for better health. Grow Your Way to 5 A Day will be designed with a theoretical framework to motivate fruit and vegetable consumption, meet national education standards, and be easily implementable by classroom teachers or community gardening groups through the elementary school environment.