50 Teaching Garden grants awarded to support nutrition education

American Heart Association

Fifty communities nationwide are expanding hands-on nutrition education with $2,500 grants from the American Heart Association's Teaching Gardens® program, helping address healthy eating challenges facing our nation's children and families. Access to healthy foods directly impacts a person's health over their lifetime, but most children are not eating recommended amounts of fruits or vegetables, consuming less than one serving of each per day.[1]

Including these new awards, the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, with support from CAULIPOWER, makers of ready-to-use plant-powered food items, has now funded 150 grants over three years to schools and community gardens nationwide. The financial grants boost garden-based learning, helping enable equitable access to healthy foods and innovating nutrition education nationwide.

Through the Association's Teaching Gardens® program, part of its Teaching Gardens Network, schools and community gardens turn the outdoors into a classroom with an interactive nutrition curriculum to help kids make healthy food choices and build positive, lifelong nutrition habits.

"It's critical that all kids have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and to proper nutrition education regardless of where they live to support growth and create a strong foundation for a healthy life," said Michelle Albert, M.D., MPH, FACC, FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association, professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Admissions Dean for UCSF Medical School. "We had the difficult task of selecting just 50 awardees out of nearly 250 applicants this year. Congratulations to all of the grant recipients and thank you for your commitment to supporting healthy kids by building healthier communities."

According to the Association's Heart Disease and Stroke 2023 Statistical Update, it's estimated that children and teens consume less than 1 serving of fruits or vegetables per day, which puts them at higher risk of cardiovascular risk factors, such as childhood diabetes and high blood pressure. Developing cardiovascular risk factors early in life exponentially increases a child's risk of heart disease and stroke in adulthood.

"These gardens are innovative, outdoor laboratories where kids can learn the benefits of healthy eating," said Gail Becker, Founder of CAULIPOWER and an American Heart Association volunteer. "School and community gardens are essential spaces to cultivate fresh produce and learn about the magic of vegetables. CAULIPOWER couldn't be more proud to have supported this vital health initiative since Day One."

The 2023 grant recipients include:

Alabama

  • Jasper - Jasper Junior High School

Arkansas

  • Springdale - Northwest Arkansas Food Bank

California

  • Eureka - Grow Together Garden Program at Alice Birney Elementary School
  • Los Angeles - Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School
  • Redwood City - Henry Ford PTA
  • Roseville - Ferris Spanger Elementary School
  • San Diego - San Diego Met High School Foundation
  • San Pedro - Feed and Be Fed

Colorado

  • Aurora - Eaglecrest High School
  • Castle Rock - Douglas County School District Nutrition Services, Flagstone Elementary
  • Salida - Guidestone Colorado

Florida

  • Boynton Beach - Congress Middle School
  • Homestead - Redland Christian Academy
  • Palm Coast - Buddy Taylor Middle School

Georgia

  • Atlanta - Soccer in the Streets

Hawaii

  • Waipahu - Hawaii Agriculture Research Center

Illinois

  • Belleville - Westhaven Elementary School
  • Chicago - Oriole Park School
  • Palestine - Palestine High School

Kansas

  • Wichita - College Hill Elementary School

Massachusetts

  • Winthrop - For Kids Only Afterschool Inc.

Maryland

  • Baltimore - Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School

Minnesota

  • Hopkins - Alice Smith Elementary School

Mississippi

  • Jackson - We Will Go
  • Natchez - Morgantown Elementary School

North Carolina

  • Asheville - Eliada Homes
  • Winston Salem - RJ Reynolds High School PTSA

Nebraska

  • Omaha - Latino Center of the Midlands
  • Omaha - Nelson Mandela Elementary

New Hampshire

  • Rochester - William Allen Elementary School

New Jersey

  • Little Egg Harbor - Cuisine Demonstration Garden

New York

  • Schenectady - Paige Elementary

Ohio

  • Kettering - Orchard Park Elementary

Oklahoma

  • El Reno - BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center
  • Oklahoma City - OKC Beautiful
  • Tulsa - Hawthorne Elementary

Pennsylvania

  • Philadelphia - Cloud 9 Community Farms
  • Rochester - Rochester Area School District
  • West Chester - Hillsdale Elementary School Garden Club
  • York - York Fresh Food Farms Community Garden

Tennessee

  • Chattanooga - Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts
  • Cleveland - Stuart Elementary School
  • Franklin - Franklin Elementary School
  • Nashville - Jere Baxter Middle School

Texas

  • Austin - Partners for Education, Agriculture and Sustainability (PEAS)
  • Buda - Sunfield Elementary School
  • Galveston - Galveston's Own Farmers Market
  • Katy - Hutsell Elementary
  • Richardson - Math Science Technology Magnet

Virginia

  • Roanoke - City of Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority

Grant recipients are encouraged to share ideas and success stories here. Stories may be featured on the Teaching Gardens website or in a Teaching Gardens Network e-newsletter.

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