How many times have you told your kids to “eat their veggies”?

It turns out that kids in Haiti are also suspicious of those mysterious green blobs mixed into their bowl of rice!

We all know that fresh fruits and vegetables are important for nutrition, but may not be kids’ favorite foods. CCH has a program that’s helping kids understand not only the importance of eating healthy but also how to grow their own food.

Junior Saint Louis (photo left) is CCH’s Partnerships Liaison. He heads up our school garden program. Before school started this summer, Junior was tilling the soil and preparing garden beds at four of our CCH partner schools. Throughout the school year, Junior goes to the schools and teaches 4-6th grade children about gardening. He starts in the classroom explaining techniques and concepts, then the class heads outside for hands-on experience to practice what they’ve learned.

The kids love it when Junior comes to their school! They ask him lots of questions and always want to harvest – even if it’s not time yet. Teachers and school administrators have also embraced the program and help take care of the gardens throughout the year by weeding, watering, and planting beds.

Fruits and vegetables from these school gardens help supplement the hot, protein-enriched lunches CCH provides for kids at school. And as a bonus, if we have a bumper crop they can take some home to share with their families.

This week, we have some lovely eggplants ready to harvest, and we won’t have any problem getting our proud little gardeners to eat those purple blobs in their rice!