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Vegetable Consumption Increases When Children Learn To Garden

June 17, 2018

Vegetable Consumption Increases When Children Learn To Garden

Most of us know by now that increasing our consumption of fruits and vegetables and limiting processed foods will lead us down a path of nutritional sustenance and health for years to come. Now studies are even suggesting that simply teaching a school-aged child about the importance of gardening and growing your own food can cause them to make the choice to eat more vegetables.

Any parent knows that children are often reluctant to eat their vegetables, especially considering the processed yet flavorful foods they are surrounded with anymore.  But teaching them to grow food in a garden can help change this trend. They can’t grow a Cheeto!

In a study conducted by Parmer et al., second graders who participated in school gardening as part of a nutrition education class increased their selection and consumption of vegetables at school, compared to second graders who did not participate in gardening. In addition, students who gardened demonstrated a higher preference for the fruits and vegetables that they had sampled.  This suggests that children want to actually try the foods they grow themselves leading them to make healthier choices even at a young age.

But that isn’t the only study that looked at the effects a vegetable garden can have on our children. In another study, which was conducted by Ratcliffe et al., middle schoolers with garden-based nutritional education demonstrated a higher preference for vegetables than the students who were not exposed to garden-based nutritional education. Students who gardened were also more willing to taste vegetables and increased the variety of vegetables they ate at school. Since most Middle schoolers have more freedom when it comes to making food choices than elementary school students, they often tend to eat fewer vegetables as they approach their adolescent years.

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