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May 23, 2023 - FoodWIse engagement at Danz Elementary School
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans list fruits and vegetables as foods to encourage for increased consumption as part of a healthy eating plan among the general population of the United States. Most Americans, including young children, need to eat a more colorful variety of fruits and vegetables more often. Early childhood presents a unique opportunity to influence food acceptance and preferences that have the potential to influence health over the lifespan that is why FoodWIse partners with schools to offer nutrition education in the classroom.
FoodWIse partnered with Danz Elementary School to provide Nutrition Education to 3rd graders. The curriculum offered had a garden-based approach where students learn about the parts of a plant and the nutrients that will help them stay healthy and strong. Students were able to learn about the six parts of the plant and taste at least one vegetable from each part of the plant. They were also able to plant beans and use hypotheses to see if they could figure out what would happen to the plant. A celery and water experiment was also done, and the kids had wonderful hypotheses on what would happen to the colored water.
Students were also able to make their own paper plate gardens and their own plant part salad. Students and teachers were both surveyed at the end of the program. Some comments from the teachers were: "Many more conversations about plants and what each part does to help it thrive," "The students have talked about how fun the activities are and how yummy the food is!" and "They were so excited to taste healthy/new things."
