April, May, June 2015 Kentucky Nurse • Page 3

Nutrition Education and Gardening in Elementary andSecondary Schools

Bryn Brendamour, Nursing Student University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

Income disparity, lack of knowledge, and foodinaccessibility are major factors contributing to poor nutrition. More than 49 million Americans are considered food insecure (i.e.. unable to consistently access nutritious food to m aintain a healthy lifestyle). Low fruit and vegetable consumption in low-income populations increases the rates of obesity and chronic disease (Berlin, Norris, Kolodinsky & Nelson, 2013). Improved accessibility to healthy foods positively correlates with reduced rates of obesity and chronic disease (Bower, Thorpe, Rohde & Gaskin, 2014; Larson, Story & Nelson, 2009; Zenk, Schulz, Israel, James, Bao & Wilson, 2006; Powell, Slater, Mirtcheva, Bao & Chaloupka, 2007). Obesity rates among low-income children are 1.7 times higher than in affluent children and the rate of obesity in low-income households is increasing substantially faster than in their more affluent counterparts (Skelton, Cook, Auinger, Klein & Barlow, 2009; Wang et al., 2010). Lack of transportation also limits access to supermarkets (Chung & Myers, 1999; Kauffman, MacDonald, Lutz & Smallwood, 1997).

Underserved communities often lack supermarkets carrying a variety of nutritious and affordable foods. Instead, the prevalent convenience stores and non-chain groceries offer more calorie dense, pre-packaged convenience foods (Bower et al., 2014; Ratcliffe, Merrigan, Rogers & Goldberg,

2010; Zick. Smith, Kowaleski-Jones, Uno & Merrill, 2013). Some individuals may not realize the impact of a healthy diet on quality of life and disease prevention. Fresh healthy foods may also have more complex preparation methods than packaged convenience foods.

Limited financial resources also affect food selection. Low-income families with children in the house may find it more cost efficient to choose convenient, preferred foods that are less likely to be wasted. The time and money it takes to introduce healthier foods may seem inconvenient and unaffordable.

Through providing healthy food access, affordability, and knowledge, school gardens have emerged as a potentially innovative way to improve healthy food access, affordability, and knowledge thus, increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income communities (Hardy, Wadsworth & Kuh, 2000; Kauffman et al., 1997; Larson, Story & Nelson, 2009). These programs may serve as a springboard towards healthier living and increased longevity. The importance of healthy food knowledge and access in preschool and school- age children is evident because this is an age when eating habits are being formed (Denier, Wolters, & Benzon, 2014; Kudlova & Schneidrova, 2012). This literature review explores the impact of in-school education and interactive gardening programs on fruit and vegetable consumption in low-income communities.

M ethod o f R eviewA literature review was conducted using

EBSCOHOST and PUBMED. Keywords were “gardening, school garden, community garden, food security, food access.” Filters included publication date within the last ten years and children from birth to 18 years old. Studies were excluded if they counted fruit juice as a fruit serving, if they had no form of quantitative data, or if they had fewer than 20 participants.

S u m m a ry o f F in d in g sThere are two critical areas to target when

developing successful garden education classes for school-age children: Hands-on interactiveactivities and parental involvement. Positive youth development theories posit tha t children should be taught in the context that supports their development while providing life skills that may help them contribute to the care of individuals and their communities (Berlin et al., 2013; Birch, 1980; Kudlova & Schneidrova, 2012)

Hands-on gardening activities in classes provided interactive ways for children to learn about the benefits, tastes, and preparation techniques of healthy produce. Hands-on learning occurs when the classroom incorporates food sampling, models, interactive activities, garden harvesting, and meal preparation (Berlin, Norris, Kolodinsky & Nelson, 2013). Participants in Nutrition Education and Gardening (NEG) based

Nutrition Education continued on page 4

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in te rven tions showed h igher preference for fru its and vegetables th a n those who partic ipa ted in an in -c lass N utrition E ducation Only (NE) intervention group, where th e han d s-o n gardening aspec t of learn ing w as left out. The NEG p artic ip a n ts also had overall b e tte r nu trition knowledge an d ability to source healthy foods. Consequently, they consum ed significantly more fru its, vegetables, v itam ins A and C, an d fiber th a n NE p artic ip a n ts (Howerton et al., 2007; Jaen k e e t al., 2012; Knai, Pomerleau, Lock & Mckee, 2006; Lineberger & Zajicek, 2000; McAleese & R ank in , 2007; Morgan et al., 2010; Robinson- O’Brien, S tory & Heim, 2009; Young, Fors & Hayes, 2004).

Some NEG program s included p are n ts and the hom e environm ent to estab lish long-term healthy d ie tary p rac tices an d improve vegetable an d fru it consum ption. S tud ies including p are n ts encouraged ch ild ren to ac t a s “agents of change” by sh a rin g th e ir gardening an d cooking experiences w ith family m em bers, ask ing for more fru its an d vegetables a t hom e, an d providing the fam ily w ith new sletters, recipes, an d produce from th e ir garden (Jaenke et al., 2012; Heim, S tang, & Ireland, 2009).

C om bining th ese interactive ways to learn inform ation w ith th e typical-classroom lecture allow s ch ild ren to feel pride in the ir accom plishm ents, reinforce in -class knowledge, and sh a re w hat they have learned in a more interactive an d v isua l m anner. Providing ch ild ren w ith repeated exposure, ta s te experiences, an d food p repara tion activ ities leads to increased excitem ent and consum ption of hea lthy fru its an d vegetables (Birch, 1980; Brug, Tak, Te Velde, Bere & De B ourdeaudhuij, 2008; Cooke, 2007). It is im portan t to ta rge t th is age group w ith interactive garden and nu tritio n education experiences to guide food choices. As ch ild ren accept hea lthy foods, it becom es m ore justifiab le to p u rch ase them in households w here food budgets a re tight.

R ecom m en dation sG arden education ca n be incorporated in to typical

classroom s a s well. Specifically, in science class, s tu d e n ts could ta k e field tr ip s to the garden du ring lessons abou t pho tosyn thesis or th e m echanism s of decom position. M ath c lasses ca n hone skills by ca lcu la ting th e a re a an d perim eters of plots or determ in ing th e probability of specific p lan ts based on inform ation given (Blair, 2009). U sing th e garden to s tim u la te creative teach ing in m ultiple subjects helps to fortify learn ing in a n a rray of academ ic a re a s and m akes th e garden m ore justifiab le in school expenses.

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P aren ta l involvement is a n im p o rtan t influence in fru it an d vegetable consum ption. P aren ts have a strong influence over w hat types of food are being brought into th e house an d fed to th e ir children. Many stud ies show th a t w hen p aren ts and o ther caregivers model healthy ea ting hab its, ch ildren also increase th e ir consum ption of healthy fru its and vegetables (Birch, 1980; Hardy, W adsworth, & Kuh, 2000; Zenk et al., 2006). P aren ta l involvement often stem s from the ir ch ildren’s passions. W hen children show excitem ent an d eagerness over th e ir hands- on garden education learning, th e ir p a re n ts m ay show increased in te rest and involvement. Children can borrow or invent recipes an d take home garden produce to prepare these recipes a t hom e w ith the ir paren ts. P aren ts can also volunteer in the garden an d tak e hom e some of th e harvest. C hildren should be encouraged to p resen t th e ir new knowledge to p a re n ts an d caregivers th rough activities an d events such a s a h a rv est lunch for p a re n ts or a cook-off. The young gardeners ca n publish a weekly garden new sletter w ith u p d ates on classroom an d garden learning. N ewsletters can con tain resou rces for the p a re n ts to learn affordable shopping for healthy foods, new recipes, an d o ther n u tritio n an d w ellness inform ation. P aren ta l involvement in the classroom will undoubted ly s tir th e ch ild ren’s excitem ent for nu trition , an d help to tran sfe r th e v ita l inform ation into th e home, spaw ning long te rm changes in hea lthy food in take and ultim ately improved hea lth outcom es.

Long-term involvement in th e gardening can solidify life-long hea lthy eating hab its. The NEG in terventions m ay also improve food accessibility for ch ildren (Robinson-O’Brien, Story, & Heim, 2009). As s tu d en ts get older, they ca n have the opportun ity to serve a s m entors for th e NEG classes or be given opportun ities to volunteer in th e garden. This will allow them to continue developing th e ir nu trition knowledge, give them access to hea lthy foods, an d su s ta in th e ir hea lthy eating hab its.

Innovative in tegration of garden education into schools is becom ing a popu la r an d effective way to increase childhood fru it an d vegetable consum ption. A lthough the re a re a num ber of successfu l garden program s, research needs to be conducted in a more s tandard ized way to sta tistica lly analyze th e benefits of th ese gardens on ch ildren’s overall health .

R eferen cesBerlin, L., Norris, K., Kolodinsky, J ., & Nelson, A. (2013).

The role of social cognitive th eo ry in farm -to-school- re la ted activities: Im plications for child n u trition .Journal o f School Health, 83(8), 589-595.

B irch, L. (1980). Effects of peer m odels' food choices an d ea tin g behaviors on preschoolers’ food preference. Child Development. 51, 489-496 .

Blair, Dorothy. “The child in th e garden: An evaluative review of th e benefits of school garden ing .” The Journal o f Environm ental E ducation 40.2 (2009): 15-38.

Bower. K. M., Thorpe, R. J ., Rohde, C., & G ask in , D. J . (2014). T he in te rsection of neighborhood racia l

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