Getting kids to eat their fruits and veggies can be challenging, whether at home around the kitchen table or in the school cafeteria. Grassroots Gardens WNY is changing the way schools and students think about healthy eating through a community-driven parternship focused on cultivating school-based gardens.
In just a few years, Grassroots Gardens WNY has expanded their reach to a total of 100 community and school-based gardens throughout Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
One seed at a time, this organization is raising awareness about healthy eating through gardening. Helping students understand where the food they eat comes from and what it takes for it to grow.
Recent studies show, garden-based learning can not only positively impact academic performace inside the classroom, but it can improve the overall health of youth as they develop.
International School #45 is one school participating in this partnership.
Melissa Fratello, Executive Director of Grassroots Gardens WNY says, "these students take pride in what they grow. They've particiapted in the process from seed to table and for them it's very rewarding."
Fratello says, statistically speaking, the chances of getting kids to eat foreign foods are much lower than they are if they know where their food is coming from.
Grassroots Gardens WNY currently oversees 29 school-based gardens.
For more information on their mission, visit the Grassroots Gardens WNY website.
