Improved Learning Results From Vegetable Consumption

Teachers in British Columbia have noticed a marked difference in their students’ behavior. No longer are children nodding off in the back row or picking fights with one another. Teachers report that children are more alert and have higher levels of concentration.

And the kids are showing up in droves to stand in line for… fresh vegetables! Teachers attribute the improved learning habits and better behavior to this strange new habit the children have developed. Ever since their school has started participating in the Farm to School program, children have been eating their veggies with gusto at lunch time, which is having a positive impact on their schoolwork. (Read more about Washington’s Farm to School program in this earlier UFH post.)

The Farm to School program provides money to schools to make upgrades to their cafeteria facilities, and creates opportunities for children to learn more about where their food comes by allowing them to take field trips to local, working farms and help prepare food for their classmates.

Here’s more on the transformation Canadian schools went through after implementing the program:

Given the choice between a salad bar or lunch packed by mom, a surprising number of students at Mountview Elementary go for the lettuce and mustard greens.

At the tiny school in Williams Lake, B.C., 160 out of 200 students line up on Tuesdays and Thursdays to munch on asparagus, broccoli or snap peas and tuck into dishes such as bison-vegetable chili.

The school opened the salad bar two years ago as part of British Columbia’s Farm to School network, which aims to include children in the locavore movement. This fall, two dozen schools in the province will offer an array of vegetables, fruit and heartier fare, using ingredients supplied by independent butchers and nearby farms.

More…

Related posts:

1. Children to Get a “Taste of Washington”
2. Pollan Collects Questions and Resources
3. U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

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