Digging Deeper - ECE Gardens & Access to Fresh Produce

Gardening offers many benefits for children’s mental and physical health by: 

  • strengthening community connections, 

  • teaching children where food comes from and how it is grown, 

  • providing hands-on opportunities to learn about the world, 

  • supporting cognitive, language, sensory, and social emotional development, and more! 

Gardening also gets children excited about eating fresh fruits and vegetables and can increase their access to them. Across the country, many low-income communities and communities of color live in areas with less access to healthy foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. 

In areas where fresh fruits and vegetables are too costly or difficult to access, growing them yourself can be a great option! By growing produce with children, you have the opportunity to expose them to new fruits and vegetables and set them up for a lifetime of healthy eating! 

While growing fruits and vegetables may sound difficult, gardening can be made simple, low-cost, and fun! Start by growing produce that do not require much maintenance like lettuce, radishes, spinach, or herbs. You can even use containers you already have available like egg cartons or milk jugs. Your local library might have a seed library, where you can borrow seeds for free to help you get started! 

Remember to involve children in the gardening process to get them excited about tasting your harvests. For more tips on growing fresh produce in your program, explore the Gardening section of the Tips & Materials library in your Go NAPSACC account. 

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