How a Ceres program has schoolkids eating up lessons in nutrition and gardening

Kids are not just eating their veggies but growing them, too, thanks to a collaboration formed in Stanislaus County.

Ceres Partnership for Healthy Families, the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency and local promotoras — volunteer health workers — have teamed up to encourage children to eat well via gardening and nutrition lessons.

The initiative began in 2018, when 20 promotoras trained to teach the Powerful People curriculum to engage community leaders.

Among the other agencies involved are CalFresh Healthy Living, the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and Cultiva La Salud.

Following the training, the promotoras worked with the Ceres Unified School District to provide after-school programs at five elementary schools, where gardens were built. CalFresh paired up with the promotoras to teach children plant and nutrition science by building soil and creating salads.

Rosalinda Ruiz, community education specialist at UCCE, ran the project and decided to teach the promotoras how to implement the TWIGS: Youth Gardening and Healthy Eating Curriculum, a comprehensive course consisting of 16 garden and 15 nutrition lessons.

“Learning about gardening is the best thing families can do to teach their kids about healthy foods,” Ruiz said.

She added that when kids take part in the growing process, they are more likely to try the fruits and vegetables.

Jaci Westbrook, CalFresh and UCCE community education supervisor for Stanislaus and Merced counties, said Ruiz is more than a teacher to the promotoras.

“They look to her as a mentor and a friend,” she said. “This empowered the promotoras to gain knowledge and gave them a different purpose.”

Ruiz said she hoped by empowering the promotoras, they’d be able to reach more students. Westbrook confirmed the promotoras are reaching upward of 135 kids.

As the pandemic winds down, the program is moving from online instruction to resuming in-person lessons, where children can gain hands-on experience.

The curriculum is also available for free online on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website.