How one county in Colorado is working to make fruits and vegetables more accessible to kids
According to Boulder Public Health, more than 90% of kids in Boulder County under 14 don't eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. In order to address the issue, BPH is working with farmer's markets, farmers and daycares to bring produce straight to the kids' table.
Ela Farms Market Manager Jeni Nagle participates in the program and regularly sets produce aside for the Farm to Early Care and Education program.
"To see them reaching and begging their parents for an apple is really exciting and heartwarming," Nagle said.
For nearly 10 years the ECE program has connected farms like Ela to more than 80 daycares, all in an effort to get more kids eating healthier.
Dietician and Farm To Early Care and Education Program Specialist for BPH Heather Hauswirth helps run the program. "It helps teach kids from a young age healthy eating behaviors, and so they grow up loving fruits and vegetables and more willing to try them with the ultimate goal of decreasing and preventing chronic disease," Hauswirth said.
Not only does research back that up, but parents who use daycares that use the ECE program, like Marissa Trepke are already seeing their kids excited about produce.
"(The kids) are like, 'hey, mom' I tried carrots! And we played with them, and we learned how to chop them,'" Trepke said.
To increase access to the program, BPH reports that most daycares offer financial assistance and many daycares will also send extra produce home for free, or even invite families to the farms directly.
"Broccoli, beets, all these things, and he's really good at it like he's better than I am at vegetables," Trepke said.
In the future, Hauswirth says Boulder Public Health wants to expand to all daycares in Boulder County. And with over 20,000 pounds of produce already shared, ECE hopes to continue teaching healthy habits, even if it starts as an apple a day from a vendor like Ela Family Farms.
"It just feels really good to feed kids good organic fruit that was grown right here in Colorado," Nagle said.