GARDENS TO GROCERIES!
According to the American Psychological Association, poverty can directly influence a child's academic achievement, psychosocial outcome, and physical health. Take, for instance, the disturbing fact that children who come from low-income families have a dropout rate that is 10 times the rate of kids who come from high-income families.
Children from low-income families are more likely to face poor nutrition, health conditions like asthma and anemia and a greater exposure to risky behaviors like smoking and sex at an early age (not to mention a higher propensity for engaging in said behaviors).
Unfortunately, millions of American children will continue to face these challenges, but there's something you can do to get involved. You can volunteer or donate to local programs like City Year, or the Boys & Girls Clubs! I mentioned yesterday this fantastic training program going on down in Memphis. What can we learn from this? A little innovation, motivation and dedication can change lives! The Boys and Girls club has a technical training school that amongst other things offers people ages 16-21 the chance to train and learn about culinary arts and the importance of fresh, local produce.
"Garden to Groceries/Urban Treats, a project of the Memphis area Boys & Girls Club Technical Training Center, was launched in May. Club members and alumni, ages 16 to 21, make edible items from produce bought at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market. They then sell the items. It's an exercise involving everything from cooking to marketing to packaging.
By working with local farmers, the Garden to Groceries-ers learn about sustainability issues. According to the center director Tiffanie Grier, they’ve also been growing their own herbs and some vegetables. In addition, they’ve been working at a local urban farm making their own soil.
Participants first began selling seasonal items, like cilantro/lime/jalapeno pesto and lemon-basil cupcakes, last summer at the Cooper Young market and the Memphis Botanic Garden Farmers Market."(http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2011/12/07/boys-and-girls-club-garden-to-groceriesurban-treats)
In addition to the Cooper-Young market, you can find the baked goods at the Urban Farms market, the Purple Door, and Miss Cordelia's. (http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2011/12/07/boys-and-girls-club-garden-to-groceriesurban-treats)
"Garden to Groceries program goes a step further" by Kimberly McGrew: The New Tri-State Defender
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AS GOOD AS THE PRODUCT WHEN DEALING WITH THESE STUDENTS IN THE “GARDENS TO GROCERIES” PROGRAM.
Not even the sweltering heat could stop the students of the Boys and Girls Club Technical Training Center from selling their nutritious treats at the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday (June 30).
Their resolve was linked to "Gardens to Groceries" – the center's program that encourages students to grow their own foods through a new age of hydroponic gardening called aeroponic tower gardening. Aeroponic gardening requires no dirt; just mineral water, sunlight and air.
"The purpose of Gardens to Groceries is to really expose students to the process of food production because a lot of students come to our center and they just don't realize how many steps it took to put those bananas on the shelves at the grocery store," said Tiffanie Grier, career placement director.
Grier said the students are trying to give people throughout the city of Memphis (especially the 38106 area) healthier options because the area is considered a food hazard.
"The kids come in from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m....They would be coming in from after school, having an after school snack and as soon as I walked through the door, the smell of grease would hit me; fried chicken, French fries, hot chips, soda," Grier said.
Last summer about this time, Grier and the students decided to take matters into their own hands. She talked to some of the staff and board members of the Boys and Girls Club, asking them to reach out and support what the students were doing. After selling their products, the students saw that their customers (along with the board and staff) enjoyed the food and became advocates of Garden to Groceries
Gradually, the students started to come up with healthier recipes, such as healthier pizza with whole wheat crust, low fat cheese, and lots of vegetables and pesto as its base.
"The students are liking a lot of the healthier products now. I know that (junk) is what's sold in the community, so it's about access. There is just not enough access to fresh fruits and vegetables so they go to the corner store," said Grier.
Rosemary, basil, oregano, cilantro, keel, jalapenos, lettuce, and squash are among the plants grown in the aeroponic gardens. The ingredients are used to make the cilantro lime jalapeno pesto, oregano basil pesto, creamy garlic humus, black bean humus, spicy roasted red pepper humus, tabouleh, watermelon de gallo, peacho de gallo, pineapple squash bread, vegan pistachio bread, olive oil lemon rosemary bread, pita bread, and pita chips.
 |
| http://www.tsdmemphis.com/index.php/greater-metro/8075-garden-to-groceries-program-goes-a-step-further |
"I really liked it, that guy is great!" Melbert said excitedly. "He was super friendly and made me want to go right to the table. That's the reason why I bought the black bean humus. It tasted kind of weird. I never had it before but I'd add it to my grocery list."
Little said he was never a big person on eating healthy until he got into the program and now he really enjoys eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
"I rarely eat junk food now. It's a healthy eating project so I don't want anybody to see me eating junk food when I'm supposed to tell everybody else to eat healthy," Little said while handing a bag of homemade pita chips to a customer.
Rita Ferguson, a customer visiting from Meridian, Miss., decided to stop by the student's table at the Downtown Farmers Market and try some of their spicy roasted red pepper humus."It was mmm, mmm good!" Ferguson said laughing. "Up until a year ago, I never tried anything like humus. I started working at Sam's Club and sampled them all."
Besides the Downtown Farmers Market, the students of the Boys and Girls Club Technical Training Center sell their goodies at the Cooper Young Market on Saturdays, Botanic Gardens on Wednesdays, The Church Health Center on Tuesdays, Ms. Cordelias's Grocery Store in Harbor Town, Urban Farms Market in Binghampton, and John's Pantry in Cordova. (http://www.tsdmemphis.com/index.php/greater-metro/8075-garden-to-groceries-program-goes-a-step-further)
)
 |
| akorteshares.towergarden.com |
I don't care how you get involved as long as you do. Of course healthy eating and nutrition education start at home - so parents get involved and Teach your children well! CHILDREN NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO FRESH AND LOCAL PRODUCE! What better way to ensure this then by donating a Tower Garden or talking to me about how to do this to one of the many programs that could benefit from this technology and the teaching it will provide! It doesn't matter what state or even what country you are in - I will work with you. And Tower Gardens are available in many countries outside the U.S. so no excuses!
 |
| https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boys-Girls-Club-of-Greater-Memphis-Garden-to-Groceries/133827860058550 |
I had the pleasure of speaking with Tiffanie Grier who began the Gardens to Groceries program in 2011 earlier today. What an inspirational woman! Here's what she had to share:
We got involved with the Tower Garden program back in 2011 before they were even on the market so they (Tower Garden) donated a bunch of them to put on the patio. They started with 3 - we already had the culinary arts training in place for people ages 16-21. We were looking to expand it and to teach them about the importance of eating healthy, local foods" - She said she looked out her window and saw all that basil growing on the Tower, and she thought why don't we incorporate this into our classes. She started by teaching them how to make pesto using the basil growing on the Tower. Then they started selling it at the local farmers market. So it was the Tower Garden that inspired Tiffani to start the Gardens to Groceries program. Since then they have expanded. "Now the focus is more on catering - they just catered an event at the Mayor's office!" - Tiffanie Grier
So I encourage everyone to like their facebook page and for my southern readers, why not look into having an event catered by the Boys & Girls club technical training program. Find out more information on their website: http://www.bgcm.org/ If you'd like to get involved with their program contact Tiffanie Grier attiffanieg@bgcm.org. Make sure you mention the Blog and if you like what you're reading take a moment to click the JOIN THIS SITE button on the right, or BECOME A MEMBER. Thanks so much everyone for all the good work you do!
If you are looking for a way to spread the good nutrition news on a more basic and less time consuming level try downloading and distributing kid and family friendly articles and charts about nutrition and fresh produce. For instance:
We Can! GO, SLOW, and WHOA Foods Chart available at this link: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/downloads/go-slow-whoa.pdf
Use this chart as a guide to help you and your family make smart food choices. Post it on your refrigerator at home or take it with you to the store when you shop. Refer to the Estimated Calorie Requirements to determine how much of these foods to eat to maintain energy balance.
• GO Foods—Eat almost anytime.
• SLOW Foods—Eat sometimes, or less often.
• WHOA Foods—Eat only once in a while or on special occasions.
For some us this basic information but for hundreds of thousands this is NEWS so share it and do not ever act superior or judgemental when you encounter a person of any age who has little to no nutrition education. We are failing people in this country on this topic, and that is not their fault! Be kind, and generous, and aim to teach and uplift. If you do, you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish!
No comments:
Post a Comment