Introducing Know Your veggies

Know Your Veggies  was crafted as a collaborative pilot program to introduce seasonal Virginia fruits and vegetables to Richmond Public School children. As a complement to the successful outdoor learning garden, The Dandelion ,  Know Your Veggies has taken root at Linwood Holton Elementary School.

The goal of the program is simple; to introduce Holton students to a seasonal Virginia grown vegetable or fruit every month to foster an environment where kids get excited about vegetables and eating seasonally and start to develop health habits.  The devil is indeed in the details. During the Fall of 2010, we were able to kick the program off with several initiatives:

•    Local Chefs Ellie Basch and Sally Schmidt, along with some of their colleagues from WCR and Chefs Move to Schools, have visited Holton almost weekly to work with staff , students, and parents on food preparation/tastings etc. The goal for this year is to continue their good work and start working with parents as well.
• Staff from Bon Secours have worked on establishing a Nutrition module in the  Kindergarten curriculum

In 2011 we hope to feature a vegetable in the cafeteria on a weekly basis on menus and decorate cafeteria with related art as well as have farmers and producers visit schools to interact with students 

Partners in the program include:

•         Richmond Public School System Department of Nutrition

•         Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

•         Holton Dandelion Outdoor Classroom and Learning Garden

•         Bon Secours Richmond Health System

•         WCR- Women Chefs and Restaurateurs 

•         Chefs Move to School Program

•         Slow Food RVA

•         Local Producers & Farmers

Structure:

The basic premise for the program is to focus on a local and seasonal vegetable each month as a way to educate children and families about local food, cooking, healthy eating, farming, and nutrition. The vegetable of the month will be a vehicle for educating children and families with interaction with local chefs, farmers, classroom teachers and nutrition educators.