Cherokee Nation’s Learn to Grow Program Hosts First Children’s Farmers Market
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Cherokee Nation’s Learn to Grow Program hosts first children’s farmers market
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. —The Cherokee Nation’s Learn to Grow Program, which teaches children to garden and raise their own vegetables, yielded enough produce for the first ever children’s farmers market in Vinita recently.
More than 115 children who attend child care centers that offer the program through the Cherokee Nation in six counties helped at the market by running their own produce stands. They sold tomatoes, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers and bell peppers to farmers and families for “veggie bucks.”
The farmers market was held at the Vinita Health Center.
“This is a great experience for the kids who have participated because they planted, grew, harvested and finally distributed these fresh fruits and vegetables. Feeling that ownership of the food source will resonate with them and so will the larger message of healthy consumption,” said Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. “One critical point that we are trying to impart to our youth through the community garden program is the importance of eating nutritious foods, especially those that are culturally significant to the Cherokee people.”
Cherokee Nation partnered with the local 4-H chapter, Oklahoma State Extension Office, Vinita High School Athletic Department and Department of Human Services Child Care Licensing to provide information and activity booths for the program’s first children’s farmers market.
Some of the hands-on activities that promoted healthy eating and physical fitness included bike smoothies, where children pedaled a stationary bike to blend a smoothie. A MyPlate Wheel showed children correct portion sizes.
“To watch the children run their own children’s farmers market, see the families interacting at the booths, and going home with free vegetables and recipes was very rewarding,” Learn to Grow Project Coordinator Lisa Evans said. “It was a day where the families could enjoy spending time together while learning about healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle for all.”
Holly Rowe, a mother to an adopted son and five foster children, attended the farmers market with her kids. The family even used the tomatoes they picked up at the event to make homemade spaghetti sauce.
“The children’s farmers market was great, and the kids loved it. I hope they continue to do it every year. I had people posting and messaging me on Facebook asking if there would be another one next year,” Rowe said.
The Learn to Grow garden initiative teaches day care providers to set higher nutrition values for children. It also encourages students to get outdoors and become interested in gardening and eating healthier.
The Cherokee Nation provides participating day care centers with two garden beds full of soil and multiple varieties of seeds, including summer and fall vegetables. Once ripe, the providers use the produce to prepare meals for the children.
The addition of the children’s farmers market was designed to be a fun way to bring participating families together to further promote healthier eating habits and lifestyles. Program officials hope to make the market a yearly event.
Learn to Grow partners with 112 child care centers and providers and more than 3,300 children total in Adair, Craig, Delaware, Nowata, Mayes and Ottawa counties. Last fall, the nutrition program got the attention of the White House when the Cherokee Nation was commended by first lady Michelle Obama. In a letter, she thanked the Cherokee Nation for promoting the health and wellness of its citizens through the program.