About the Children’s Nutrition Program:

This fall we will be piloting a new Children’s Nutrition Program at the Farmers Market!  The program will educate local elementary school students about the importance and benefits of fresh, local fruits and vegetables, and will allow them to sample and purchase fresh produce at the Market. This program has been created and will be administered by Laura McCann, R.D., L.D. in collaboration with the Farmers Market Institute.  Laura will be surveying the elementary students who participate to collect data for her Master’s thesis in Nutrition.  The program is funded by grants awarded by UNM.

 

Participants:

Elementary students enrolled at Gonzales Community School in Kindergarten, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grades.  There are two classrooms in each of these grades.  One classroom will come to the market at a time.

When:

The pilot will run on four Tuesday markets in late September and into October.

What:

Students will come with their teachers and other chaperones and will gather in an “education area” in a corner of the market hall.  Here they will learn about our local produce and have the opportunity to taste select fruits and vegetables.  Students will record reflections on their tasting experience in a program notebook.

Afterwards, they will be given a shopping list from which they will chose one item to buy to bring home to their family.  Students will each be given $2 worth of tokens to spend in the market.  Vendors may redeem these tokens for cash.  Students may only use the tokens on fresh fruits and vegetables.  (More information on this in upcoming Vendor Announcements).  Students will venture through the market in small, supervised groups during this shopping experience.

Why:

The rise in childhood obesity has been established as a perilous trend that threatens the health of our youth.  Data indicates that U.S. children fall short of eating the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.  The USDA recommends eating more fruits and vegetables in an effort to combat childhood obesity.

Research shows that family and school nutrition programs have a strong influence on children’s willingness to try fruits and vegetables.  There is no published research that demonstrates the influence of a community entity, such as a farmers market, in this regard.  Piloting this program aims to investigate the influence of a vibrant, exciting community experience on children’s willingness to try fruits and vegetables.

If the data collected indicates the program has a positive effect, we will seek to additional grant funds to perpetuate the program and open participation to schools, camps and other youth programs.