For many health-conscious parents, life without Annie's bunnies or mac & cheese would be very sad indeed. What they might not know is that Annie (yes, there is a real Annie!) has been advocating for healthy food for over 20 years! She started small with the goal to create healthy food that Moms felt good about feeding their families. While the company has grown by leaps and bunnies, they have remained true to their mission over time....as evidenced by their new Root 4 Kids campaign.
Root 4 Kids is a movement intended to inspire kids to dig real food. Both literally and figuratively. Why? Because too many kids out there have never tried a fresh pepper, much less planted one. The goal of the campaign is to get 1 million kids to eat and plant new veggies from now through harvest 2011. To achieve this goal Annie's has partnered with the National Farm to School Network, a nationally recognized, collaborative non-profit that connects schools with local farms to provide healthy school lunches, classroom education and hands-on learning through school gardens.
Get started by joining the movement and planting a veggie in the virtual garden. Then visit the Eat, Love, Play and Dig sections of the website to learn more about what you can do to spread the veggie love. You could even win a Farm to School program or garden for your school!
Does your school have a garden or any type of nutrition education for kids? Do you have any tips for getting kids to dig real food? Please share!
(Did you have a chance to check out any of the Parent Earth videos I blogged about last week? Pretty cool, huh? Stay tuned for part 3 of my little series on Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies - coming tomorrow!)
Our kids help with the family garden, preserving our harvest and share in meal preparation. As a result they love to eat the fruits & veggies we grow and they've learned to appreciate what it takes to get food to the table.
Posted by: Sue | November 29, 2010 at 08:47 AM
Like Sue said, few kids have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Sure, there is the produce section at the supermarket... but we all know the taste difference between a tomato picked off the vine versus a store bought tomato.
Part of the problem is simply QUALITY. Instead of hiding vegetables in our kids food, perhaps granting them access to and inviting them to learn about and become involved in the production of produce will facilitate a healthier diet.
Posted by: Jodi | November 29, 2010 at 08:54 AM
The local school in our urban neighborhood in Chicago has a greenhouse on the third floor! I help organize volunteers to water and plant, and after-school programs started including it in their curriculum after a study last year showed that students were eating, on average, 3/4 of a serving of fruit *per month* at school.
We sell flowers and ornamental plants so the greenhouse is self-funding. I was just there this morning and the paperwhite bulbs look great! I would highly recommend school gardens. They also help use the gifts of parents and others in the community, who maybe don't have the time or skills to volunteer in the classroom, etc. but can water or weed early in the morning or after work.
Posted by: Rita | November 29, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Excellent find! what a great tool - I just tweeted this post! :)
Posted by: Sofia's Ideas | November 29, 2010 at 12:35 PM
Wow - I'm so jealous of your school greenhouse Rita! And the fact that you sell what you grow to fund the project is even better. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Micaela | December 02, 2010 at 12:45 PM
Jodi - I agree - getting kids to have a hand in growing their own food is really key to healthy eating.
Posted by: Micaela | December 02, 2010 at 12:47 PM