The first seeds of what is now the Plant A Thousand Gardens Collaborative Nutrition Initiative (CNI) were sown in 2004 when Slow Food Miami, in partnership with Three Sisters Farm, Earth Ethics Institute of Miami Dade College and several community organizations, gave six South Florida schools the materials, expertise and assistance to install and care for organic gardens.  Modeled on the work in Berkeley, California of international Slow Food leader Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, it is our effort to address child obesity in Miami-Dade and encourage a healthy, respectful attitude towards food. 

 

We expanded the project in 2005-2006 with funding support from the Health Foundation of South Florida and the involvement of health experts, nutritionists and chefs.  The garden-to-table approach is unique among emerging attempts to address childhood obesity because it goes beyond nutrition lessons to offer experiential learning and the societal support that help children maintain healthier eating habits. 

 

The work initiated by Slow Food Miami, and supported by its volunteers and funds we raise, has become a program of The Education Fund, a Miami-Dade nonprofit that began in 1985 to design and implement initiatives that involve the private sector in improving our schools and bringing excellence to public education.  With two-year funding from Health Foundation, and the expertise of The Education Fund, CNI will be positioned as a comprehensive strategy to improve the health and nutrition of children and their families, while engaging teachers and school leaders in conducting the research and curriculum delivery that will ultimately lead to greater whole-school change around health and wellness.

 

During the 2007-2008 school year, CNI is being implemented at Charles R. Hadley Elementary; Coral Park Elementary; Caribbean Elementary; Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Elementary; and West Hialeah Gardens Elementary Schools, which collectively have high concentrations of Hispanic, Haitian, and African-American youngsters from low-income families.  Other schools will be encouraged and supported as resources permit with their independent school garden programs. 

 

For information about The Education Fund and its projects, please visit www.educationfund.org.  To volunteer as a garden assistant, chef or nutritionist, or to offer materials or supplies, please contact program coordinator Stacey de la Grana at 305-892-5099, Extension # 23 or sdelagrana@educationfund.org.  For information about Slow Food Miami’s involvement, please contact Slow Food Co-Convivium leader Jo Anne Bander at joanne@fromthesource.info.   Additional information about school garden programs can be found at www.chezpanissefoundation.org or www.centerforecoliteracy.org.