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May 20, 2007Bennington College's Early Childhood Center Proves Children Dig Fruits and Vegetables Grown in a Garden |
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From Ascribe Newsfeed: BENNINGTON, Vt., May 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Dr. Seuss and parents everywhere will tell you that kids do not like their vegetables - not in a house, not near a mouse, not in a tree, not with tea! But Bennington College's Early Childhood Center proves kids will eat vegetables they grow in a garden. Three years ago, the College's Early Childhood Center (ECC) - a NAEYC accredited pre-school and kindergarten program serving 68 students aged two through six - noticed a universal truth, kids hate their vegetables. "We were looking for ways to incorporate more nutritional food items into our menu," says Bennington alumna and Director of the ECC, Darlene Bombard '04. After parents raised nearly $1,000 for the pilot program, a garden was born. Researchers interviewed about 1,600 parents of preschool-aged children and found that children who were served homegrown fruits and vegetables were more than twice as likely to eat five servings a day as those who rarely ate homegrown produce. This practice supported Dr. Haire-Joshu's findings which revealed that students at schools with gardens learn about math and science, eat more fruits and vegetables, and know more about eating healthy. Participants surpass the toddlers and kindergarteners, but have involved Bennington College students, ECC parent volunteers and even local farm children. AScribe Newswire distributes news from nonprofit and public sector organizations.
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