Capital District Community Gardens
(CDCG) developed the Taste Good series in 2005 in response to the
rising obesity epidemic among children, particularly the urban poor,
to introduce fruits and vegetables to Pre-K through Grade 2 students in the
inner-city neighborhoods that we serve.
The
Taste Good series encourages children to try new fruits and
vegetables through a program of fun educational activities, games, songs,
and samples. One day a week (during a 30-minute session) for six weeks, our
Educator presents a different fruit or vegetable for the students to taste
in a way that would appeal to most children (i.e. broccoli with non-fat dip,
sweet potato muffins, blueberry smoothies). The children learn about the
importance of eating a “rainbow” of fruits and vegetables each day and
engage in activities that explain the different edible parts of the plant.
For instance, when tasting sugar snap peas,
our Educator opens the edible pods and children learn that peas are a type
of seed. Children sample the pea pods and then plant seeds to grow their
own sugar snap peas in the classroom. At the conclusion of the activity,
each child receives a sticker that reads “I tried sugar snap peas!” and is
given education materials to share with his or her family. These weekly
take-home materials include nutritional information, tips on finding and
selecting different fruits and vegetables, and healthy recipes to prepare
together.
Promoting
Healthy Habits
We
have brought the Taste Good series to schools in three counties
(Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer) and have taught more than 2000
students. The parent, teacher, administrator, and student responses to
the Taste Good series have been extremely positive. On average, 85%
of students taste the fruit or vegetable presented each week and, more
importantly, 85-90% of thosestudents
say that they like what they ate. Parents can’t believe it when their
children come home and tell them that they tried broccoli and want them to
buy it!
The Taste Good series not only exposes
children to fruits and vegetables, but reaches out to families to help
connect them to other CDCG programs that can increase the availability and
affordability of fresh produce. These connections make our programs truly
unique. The Taste Good program is conducted in the same
neighborhoods that host our Community Gardens, and families are encouraged
to begin growing their own food in a plot near their home. The Veggie
Mobile, CDCG’s mobile market, also sells fresh produce at wholesale prices
in these same neighborhoods. Many of these communities lack easily
accessible grocery stores or other sources of affordable healthy foods. We
believe that our multi-faceted approach of offering fresh fruits and
vegetables to urban residents, in conjunction with educational efforts and
heightened awareness of healthy options, will lead to increased consumption
of nutritious foods.
The
Taste Good series encourages children to try new fruits and
vegetables through a program of fun educational activities, games, songs,
and samples. One day a week (during a 30-minute session) for six weeks, our
Educator presents a different fruit or vegetable for the students to taste
in a way that would appeal to most children (i.e. broccoli with non-fat dip,
sweet potato muffins, blueberry smoothies). The children learn about the
importance of eating a “rainbow” of fruits and vegetables each day and
engage in activities that explain the different edible parts of the plant.
