'Veggie Patch' program: Kids scout for healthy food
 

'Veggie Patch' program: Kids scout for healthy food

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/.../article?AID=/
20070522/MOMS02/705210301
http://tinyurl.com/2prvcy

Parents of the Cub or Brownie Scouts who've come to a Wegmans store to
earn their "Veggie Patch" have sometimes been amazed: Is this really
their child, competing with others to get the cleanest hands or asking
for more squash?

"That's one of the happy surprises for some parent chaperones," says
Nella Neeck, manager of fresh meal solutions at Wegmans.

Neeck helped develop the "Veggie Patch" healthy cooking and eating
program for scouts.

"If kids make a dish themselves, they'll often try something they'd
ordinarily reject. It gives you the chance to steer them toward
healthier eating choices with more fruits and vegetables."

The Veggie Patch program grew out of Wegmans' desire to help families
make healthier eating and lifestyle choices.

"We brainstormed about effective ways to engage kids and realized that
partnering with organizations that already worked with kids made
sense," says Neeck. "The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were both very
supportive and worked with us to design a program for their Brownies
and Cubs, ages 6 to 8."

Veggie Patch classes are now offered at six Wegmans stores in the
area: Chili Paul, Eastway, Canandaigua, Penfield, Latta Road and Holt
Road. There's a fee of $10 per child, which some troop leaders cover
with revenues from cookie or holiday tree sales. Troop leaders can
schedule a class by calling Consumer Affairs at 585-464-4760. This
year the program will be expanded to select stores in New Jersey,
Maryland and Virginia.

The goal of Veggie Patch class is to make basic nutrition kid-
friendly.

"We say, eat a rainbow every day, because we want them to be aware
that color in food plays a part in the health benefits," says Neeck.
"How much? We say, eat five 'fists' a day. It helps children
understand portion size. We also talk about what makes foods healthy
or not healthy, and tell the story of the Three Sisters-corn, beans
and squash-which nourish each other in the ground as soil partners,
and nourish the people who eat these crops."

The kids get to cook, but get a hand-washing reminder first. "We do
the Glo Germ experiment. The kids apply a harmless gel that glows
under black light. Then they wash their hands, and put them under the
light again to see areas they missed - around fingernails, in between
fingers and so on. It's fun and lets us reinforce the importance of
starting to cook with clean hands."

Kids make spaghetti squash with sauce and cheese, pureed winter squash
and roasted winter squash. When they compare flavors, the spaghetti
squash is the hands-down favorite. They also make fruit parfaits with
five different colors of fruits, layered with vanilla yogurt and
granola, and make trail mix to take home, along with a "Healthy Me"
booklet of recipes and tracking sheet for eating a rainbow every day.

The Veggie Patch that the scouts receive for participation meets many
of the requirements for the "Make It, Eat It, Try It" badge for
Brownies, and the "What's Cooking?" badge for Cub scouts.

'Veggie Patch' program: Kids scout for healthy food
 

Fred Goodwin, CMA a écrit :
'Veggie Patch' program: Kids scout for healthy food

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/.../article?AID=/
20070522/MOMS02/705210301
http://tinyurl.com/2prvcy

Parents of the Cub or Brownie Scouts who've come to a Wegmans store to
earn their "Veggie Patch" have sometimes been amazed: Is this really
their child, competing with others to get the cleanest hands or asking
for more squash?

"That's one of the happy surprises for some parent chaperones," says
Nella Neeck, manager of fresh meal solutions at Wegmans.

Neeck helped develop the "Veggie Patch" healthy cooking and eating
program for scouts.

"If kids make a dish themselves, they'll often try something they'd
ordinarily reject. It gives you the chance to steer them toward
healthier eating choices with more fruits and vegetables."

The Veggie Patch program grew out of Wegmans' desire to help families
make healthier eating and lifestyle choices.

"We brainstormed about effective ways to engage kids and realized that
partnering with organizations that already worked with kids made
sense," says Neeck. "The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were both very
supportive and worked with us to design a program for their Brownies
and Cubs, ages 6 to 8."

Veggie Patch classes are now offered at six Wegmans stores in the
area: Chili Paul, Eastway, Canandaigua, Penfield, Latta Road and Holt
Road. There's a fee of $10 per child, which some troop leaders cover
with revenues from cookie or holiday tree sales. Troop leaders can
schedule a class by calling Consumer Affairs at 585-464-4760. This
year the program will be expanded to select stores in New Jersey,
Maryland and Virginia.

The goal of Veggie Patch class is to make basic nutrition kid-
friendly.

"We say, eat a rainbow every day, because we want them to be aware
that color in food plays a part in the health benefits," says Neeck.
"How much? We say, eat five 'fists' a day. It helps children
understand portion size. We also talk about what makes foods healthy
or not healthy, and tell the story of the Three Sisters-corn, beans
and squash-which nourish each other in the ground as soil partners,
and nourish the people who eat these crops."

The kids get to cook, but get a hand-washing reminder first. "We do
the Glo Germ experiment. The kids apply a harmless gel that glows
under black light. Then they wash their hands, and put them under the
light again to see areas they missed - around fingernails, in between
fingers and so on. It's fun and lets us reinforce the importance of
starting to cook with clean hands."

Kids make spaghetti squash with sauce and cheese, pureed winter squash
and roasted winter squash. When they compare flavors, the spaghetti
squash is the hands-down favorite. They also make fruit parfaits with
five different colors of fruits, layered with vanilla yogurt and
granola, and make trail mix to take home, along with a "Healthy Me"
booklet of recipes and tracking sheet for eating a rainbow every day.

The Veggie Patch that the scouts receive for participation meets many
of the requirements for the "Make It, Eat It, Try It" badge for
Brownies, and the "What's Cooking?" badge for Cub scouts.

Very good!

Boy scouts should give up meat altogether!
By just watching youtube/animalcow massacre....you'll be convinced of
this!