Garden-based education found to improve dietary choices among kids

New research out of University of California – Davis has studied the effects of school gardens and garden-based nutrition education on fruit and vegetable consumption of school-aged children in California. The study concludes that after participating in garden-based education, children are more likely to diversify their diets with a variety of fruits and vegetables. The study explains, “[A]fter a 17-week standards-based, garden-enhanced nutrition education program, fourth-grade students preferred a greater variety of vegetables than did control students.”

The study also extolls the benefits of Farm to School programs that connect local small and mid-sized farms to school lunch programs. Of the eleven Farm to School programs that were studied, ten produced positive dietary behavior changes. Examples of these changes included increased use of the salad bar and increased participation in the school nutrition program.

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