Cultivating a Healthier Community
A Partnership Between Teen Health Center and the Young Gardeners Program
Teen Health Center and GOFM’s Young Gardens Program are collaborating to improve the nutrition, mental health & body image of teenage GISD students by “prescribing” more time outdoors, practicing mindfulness, and accessing healthy foods through the YGP Garden. In the gardens, the teens/youth can ‘volunteer’ as garden facilitators with Dr. Bethany Powell, a YGP Garden Leader and physician who specializes in nutrition-based health. Teens will have an opportunity to learn about growing their own food, and nutrition. Depending on the age of the student receiving the prescription, they will either mentor younger students or be a peer guide.
THE YOUNG GARDENERS PROGRAM
The Young Gardeners Program (YGP) integrates high-production gardens & advanced curriculum with after-school programming at GISD schools. With the support of community volunteers, GISD administration & staff, local families, and our enthusiastic students, they are able to send children home with food nearly every week while educating them on food literacy, garden stewardship, cooking nourishing meals, and the pride of sharing that food with others.
Their mission is to cultivate a community of healthy and happy young people by encouraging them to put their hands in the dirt, eat well, and learn the transformative power of growing their own food.
YGP believes that the island’s overall health could be transformed by increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. By embedding a YGP in GISD afterschool programs, their initiative would strategically target a majority underserved student population most vulnerable to food insecurity & poor dietary health.
