Students at Lincoln, Taylor Hicks and Granite Mountain School in Prescott are happy to have a new area of study. Thanks to FoodCorps, part of their day includes growing, harvesting, preparing and tasting foods from their own school garden.
FoodCorps is a nationwide team of AmeriCorps service members whose goal is to “create a future in which every school is a healthy school, and every child is well-nourished and ready to learn.”
According to the FoodCorps website, children and adults who suffer from diet-related diseases score lower on tests, miss more days of school, advance less in their careers and raise children who are likely to repeat the same cycle. The mission of FoodCorps is to stop that cycle.
Service member Elena Greenberg visited YRMC’s Your Healthy Kitchen in the studio to share a simple and nutritious Vegan Sweet Potato Chili recipe from Whipstone Farm and to chat with host Rita Carey Rubin about local FoodCorps efforts.
Click here to watch Vegan Sweet Potato Chili with Elena Greenberg from FoodCorps on YouTube.
“When they’re able to plant the seed, watch it grow and harvest it, and see the whole process, it encourages them to try new things,” says Greenberg, “They’ve been really brave to try new fruits & vegetables.”
She emphasizes that it’s a community effort. “Parents, students, teachers, cafeteria staff and community members meet to create goals,” says Greenberg, “It’s taught me about the importance of working together with a community in order to create real change.”
The local program partners with the Prescott Farmers Market, which provides the schools with produce from area farms. Last year, FoodCorps served produce from local farms to more that 8,000 students.
For more healthy cooking videos, tips, nutrition information and downloadable recipes, visit Your Healthy Kitchen or follow Your Healthy Kitchen on Facebook.