Our plan
As a volunteer at the Community Health Resource Center ("CHRC") in San Francisco, I've been able to get involved in the various projects that this mission-minded non-profit organization undertakes. Between 2007 and 2008, Tule Elk Park Child Development Center worked with garden educators and nutritionists to develop a classroom curriculum to teach pre-K through elementary age students about nutrition, the environment, and ecological stewardship.
What we did
As a small part of a big engine and pre-existing partnerships with with non-profit organizations and philanthropic foundations, my role in the project was behind the scenes. Following completion of the first classroom component in 2008, the team worked together to produce a 112-page book called "From Garden to Plate." My role has been preparing the book for publishing and developing the materials to market the book to educators in the Bay Area so that more students can be exposed to the lessons and activities packaged into the learning guide.
Our results
The initial response to this project has been terrific. Our first orders are coming in and staff are being sent to classrooms in San Francisco to discuss nutrition. Having this guide available will continue to enable education in a fun and hands-on manner. Students touched by the project and its deliverables are impacted in so many meaningful ways. An increased accountability for healthy eating leads to childhood obesity prevention. Understanding where food "comes from" makes students consider ways to be responsible citizens working for ecological sustainability. And finally, teachers at the K-5 level have found multiple applications for teaching other subjects through the context of this innovative material. A lesson on planting seeds can become an interactive mathematics exercise. Art projects relating to plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables stimulate young creative minds. The full impact of this exciting project has yet to be realized, but I continue to be proud of my involvement in getting these important materials in the hands of educators who will use them!
MK
Hi, I am interested in your program. Do you sell your booklet? We are interested in starting a similar program in our school district.
karen seidman
Hi. I am a parent at Miraloma here in SF, and I am interested in bringing your program in (if it is not already there)