Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation Announces Educational Broadcast Celebrating America’s School Gardens
April 01 2021 - 4:33PM
Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, with support from the
School Garden Support Organization (SGSO) Network, will host the
first-ever, virtual garden-based learning event with lessons led by
students from school garden sites from coast to coast on April 27
from 10 to 11 a.m. PT on growingschoolgardens.org. The event
furthers the Sprouts Healthy Community Foundation’s commitment to
advancing children’s nutrition education and is in honor of
National Garden Month which was nationally declared by Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack in 2015.
“It is essential that we educate our children about establishing
good nutrition and healthy eating habits early in life to lead to
better, positive health outcomes later in life,” said Vilsack. “We
need to expand and improve our outreach and education with a much
greater focus on nutrition security, giving children and families
tools to make healthy food choices because the food we eat affects
our health throughout our lives. One of the most effective
education tools we have with kids is gardens. When a child tastes
food grown in a garden for the first time, it opens her eyes to new
choices and can begin a nutrition journey that lasts a
lifetime.”
The 45-minute virtual event, titled Growing School
Gardens: Seeding a Healthy Future for Our Youth, will be
taught through student voices and viewed by an estimated 500
elementary schools. Lessons will capture how school gardens are
advancing nutrition and environmental literacy, STEM education, and
social-emotional wellness.
“This event provides educators with classroom content and will
increase awareness to the true value of garden-based education,"
said John Fisher, co-founder of SGSO. “Teachers know it, and
research shows it. School gardens increase children’s sense of
responsibility to care for the environment; academic achievement
and engagement; self-confidence and teamwork.”
Livestream activities kick off in Hawaii and culminate in
Washington, D.C. Topics and locations include:
- Cultural Connections Between Plants, People, Food and
Land hosted by Kokua Foundation at Waimea Middle Public
Conversion Charter School in Waimea, Hawaii
- What a School Garden Means to Students hosted
by Life Lab at Radcliff Elementary in Watsonville, Calif.
- Environmental Design in the School Garden
hosted by University of Arizona’s Community & School Garden
Program at Manzo Elementary in Tucson, Ariz.
- Unity Through Community hosted by Big Green at
Lake Middle School in Denver
- Research Shows School Gardens Benefits hosted
by the Department of Nutritional Sciences at The University of
Texas at Austin and TX Sprouts Program in Austin, Texas
- Community and Youth Development hosted
by Jones Valley Teaching Farm at Woodlawn High School in
Birmingham, Ala.
- We Are Scientists in the Garden hosted by Out
Teach at Whittier Elementary in Washington, D.C.
The event comes as many schools reopen for in-person classes.
School gardens provide hubs for socially distanced learning, and
places to help students reduce stress and anxiety.
“Throughout the pandemic, we all witnessed the enormous
pressures put on students and educators, and school gardens helped
to alleviate some of those pressures when leveraged appropriately.
Additionally, school and community gardens can oftentimes be a
source for emergency food assistance for communities experiencing
food insecurity,” said Sprouts Healthy Communities Executive
Director and SGSO Chair Member Lyndsey Waugh. “Now is the time to
recognize how we support our nation’s youth with the resources to
rebound and thrive, and we believe wholeheartedly that school
gardens can play a tremendous role in this effort.”SCHOOL
GARDEN FIRESIDE CHAT & INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITYFollowing
the event, from 11 a.m. to noon PT, media, nonprofits, and
government leaders are invited to join a panel discussion with key
leaders in the school garden movement. The panel will feature
critical conversations and youth perspectives highlighting the
value of school garden education. Media can register for the panel
and submit questions for discussion in advance here.
For more information, including additional media assets, visit
growingschoolgardens.org, or follow #growingschoolgardens on social
media.
About Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.Sprouts is
the place where goodness grows. True to its farm-stand heritage,
Sprouts offers a unique grocery experience featuring an open layout
with fresh produce at the heart of the store. Sprouts inspires
wellness naturally with a carefully curated assortment of
better-for-you products paired with purpose-driven people. The
healthy grocer continues to bring the latest in wholesome,
innovative products made with lifestyle-friendly ingredients such
as organic, plant-based and gluten-free. Headquartered in Phoenix,
and one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country, Sprouts
employs approximately 35,000 team members and operates
more than 360 stores in 23 states nationwide. To learn more about
Sprouts, and the good it brings
communities, visit about.sprouts.com.
About Sprouts Healthy Communities
FoundationFounded in 2015, the Sprouts Healthy Communities
Foundation aims to inspire, educate, and empower individuals,
especially children, to live healthier lives. With a focus on
nutrition education and fresh food access, our nonprofit partners
teach children both how to grow and prepare fresh foods,
as well as why such foods are important to their bodies.
Knowing that kids who learn these lessons from a young age are more
likely to grow up eating healthier food as adults, we reach
children at every stage of development, providing hands-on learning
and tasting of fresh fruits and vegetables as they grow. Sprouts
Farmers Market covers all of the operational expenses of
the Foundation, ensuring that every dollar raised
goes directly to programming. About
School Garden Support Organization Network
(SGSO)The School Garden Support Organization Network is
made up of organizations and individuals that support school garden
programs at a regional, school district, or state level. As a
community, we value accessible, open communication that encourages
collaboration, networking, and the cross-pollination of ideas that
can lead to unexpected results and solutions. We thrive on
transparency, mutual support, and open-source sharing, when
possible. We intentionally seek ways to make our organization,
resources, and the experience of school gardening accessible to all
children, youth and communities.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8020e10a-df2f-4668-ab65-2e11e1ef461d
Contact: media@sprouts.com, 602-682-1536
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