Gardening helps children grow better food habits
Tending a garden can help young children develop healthy attitudes about food that will influence their health years later, a new study shows.
Kids who participated in a gardening and food education program during elementary school were more likely to eat healthier as they grew up, researchers found.
“Kids who grow vegetables in a school garden and learn how to prepare meals seem to show a lasting desire for fresh, healthy food as young adults,” said lead author Christine St.
Pierre, a doctoral candidate and researcher at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
For the study, researchers brought together focus groups made up of current and past participants in the Foodprints food education program, which is offered in 20 elementary schools in Washington, D.C.
The program starts when students are in prekindergarten and continues through fifth grade. In the program, kids help grow fruits and vegetables in a school garden, harvest their produce and then use it to prepare healthy food.
Participants said the program helped them better appreciate fresh food offerings at home. Foodprints also taught them how to prepare dishes and gave them confidence in the kitchen, results show.
Older kids who’d gone through the program said they were more open to trying new foods.
“I think that that same excitement and joy that came from Foodprints kind of has carried over into the way that I’m able to enjoy cooking now … prepping a meal, chopping up vegetables, those basic things, learning those skills at early age and making it fun and interesting,” one participant said.
The researchers argued that such programs can help improve kids’ health throughout their life, by improving the ongoing quality of their diets.
The findings were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.