"We have food deserts in our cities. We know the distance you live from a supplier of fresh produce is one of the predictors of your health. And in the inner city, people don't have grocery stores. So we have to figure out a way of getting supermarkets and farmers markets into the inner cities."
---Michael Pollan
Spring is around the corner. It has been a long, cold winter here in Indiana and I am ready to spend my days outside working in the flower gardens instead of working inside with the heat turned on, dressed in layers of fleece vests and jackets. When spring is here, the farmers markets are near. Pictured above are kids and volunteers with our Growing Healthy Kids workshops where we take kids to the Vero Beach Farmers Market. From my experience working with kids who live in food deserts, our Growing Healthy Kids' trips represent the first time these kids ever visited their local farmers market.
Taking children to the local farmers market is a game
changer for kids. If you were not raised on a farm to see how food is grown,
the farmers market is the next best thing.
Meeting the farmers who grow the food is a great way to learn about how
important it is to eat real food.
Learning how much work it takes to grow food makes one think about what
we are eating and drinking. Are we
eating nutrient dense food so every bite contributes to our health? Are we
treating our food with respect? Do we
respect the people who grow our food?
Since Growing Healthy Kids began in 2009, we have taken lots of kids to local farmers markets.
The kids meet farmers, talk with them, buy organically grown vegetables
for our cooking workshops, and taste what they have bought and prepared. These are life lessons that kids don’t forget. This spring, find out where
your local farmers market is and take your kids shopping there. Support your local farmers. Teach your kids what real food is. Be kind.
With love and kindness,
Nancy Heinrich, MPH
Founder and Wellness Architect
