Nutrition Education

With the loss of connection to where food comes from, there has also been a disconnect with preparing food and healthy eating. The nutrition component of Growing Minds consists of cooking demonstrations and classes to help students learn to enjoy preparing and eating healthy fresh foods.

Carrot and Kohlrabi stew?! What first or second grade student would eat that? Even ASAP staff were surprised when students were eating up this stew, but of course - they made it themselves. The term "nutrition education"' often brings to mind fruit and veggie coloring books and the food pyramid. Today ASAP's Growing Minds program is moving with the trend to involve kids in both growing and preparing fresh healthy foods. Maybe it is the pride of making it themselves or knowing what they are eating, but having students participate in cooking classes has been a successful way to get students to eat healthier.

As families rush to fit everything into overwhelming schedules, time for home cooking has fallen by the wayside. Convenience and fast foods are much more a reality for today's generation than coming home to the smell of dinner in the oven. Completing the connection between who grows our food and healthy eating, Growing Minds has organized and sponsored cooking classes and demonstrations at several schools in western North Carolina. Eat Better, Learn Better is a parent group at Isaac Dickson that was inspired by ASAP's work with school gardens and farm fieldtrips. Writing their own grant and working with Growing Minds, this group now coordinates weekly cooking classes with local chefs and monthly cooking demonstrations in the school cafeteria. ASAP purchased a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share for this school to use in cooking classes, demonstrations and in the cafeteria. Using locally grown food as part of nutrition demonstrations is yet another way to tie our food back to farms.