Teaching Gardens Program Turns 10

Teaching Gardens, the American Heart Association’s outdoor garden laboratory where kids learn about growing food and eating healthy, marks its 10th anniversary this year.

A celebration sponsored by CAULIPOWER was held at Kelso Elementary School in Inglewood, where the first Teaching Garden in the country was planted. Teaching Gardens founder Kelly Meyer led the event with more than 600 students and special guests, including NBA legend Derek Fisher, who participated in the launch of the first Teaching Gardens, hip-hop dancer Kida the Great, who treated the kids to a special performance and Gerald Everett of the Los Angeles Rams. The students spent the day rotating through various fun interactive sessions on gardening, cooking, physical activity, art and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

“The vision of these gardens is really about connecting children to nature and in doing so, teaching them about health and wellness and what it really means to eat good food – food that feeds your soul, food that helps your body and mind stay strong,” said Teaching Gardens founder Kelly Meyer. “I’m so grateful to the American Heart Association for building out the program and using it as a platform to talk about prevention and improve food access and food policy for all children across the country,” Meyer added.

The Teaching Gardens program serves as a real-life laboratory where kids learn to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce and ultimately learn the value of good eating habits. There are more than 400 Teaching Gardens nationwide, including 60 in South and East Los Angeles, where the program has reached more than 50,000 students and parents.

Two years ago, the American Heart Association Los Angeles Division introduced Student Farmers Markets as an extension of Teaching Gardens. The five schools that currently participate in the program offer free produce from the school garden to its immediate community, inspiring students to be part of the solution to challenges around healthy food access and affordability.

“We know that eating well is a central building block of good health. Learning how to grow healthy fruit and vegetables is a joyful experience that can not only be fun, but also educates our children to be the change agents we need to transform Los Angeles for the better. That is why Keck Medicine of USC is proud to sponsor a Teaching Garden and Farmers Market in East LA,” said Carol Peden, MD, MPH, executive director, USC Center for Health Systems Innovation, Keck Medicine of USC, and co-chair of the American Heart Association’s 2019 Heart & Stroke Ball, which will pay tribute to the Teaching Gardens program. “It is our hope that other organizations will support further expansion of the Teaching Gardens and Student Farmers Markets across under-resourced neighborhoods in LA County.”

About 1 in 3 kids and teens in the U.S. is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963. Early childhood is key to developing lifelong healthy habits and studies have shown that garden-based nutrition programs can promote increased fruit and vegetable intake among children. The American Heart Association, a leading force for a world of longer, healthier lives and equitable health for all, is committed to add five new gardens in Los Angeles County every year.

Los Angeles Teaching Gardens is sponsored by the following organizations: 21st Century Fox, CAULIPOWER, Creative Artists Agency, Dole, Ernst & Young, Geffen Foundation, ITG Automotive, Keck Medicine of USC, Metlife, NBC Universal, Navigant Consulting, OneSun Fund, Participant Media, Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation, The California Endowment, Union Bank, Whole Foods Market, Yahoo! Employee Foundation, Ziffren Brittenham, and many anonymous donors.

For more information about the Teaching Gardens program, visit www.heart.org/teachinggardens.

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a leading force for a world of longer, healthier lives. With nearly a century of lifesaving work, the Dallas-based association is dedicated to ensuring equitable health for all. We are a trustworthy source empowering people to improve their heart health, brain health and well-being. We collaborate with numerous organizations and millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, advocate for stronger public health policies, and share lifesaving resources and information. Connect with us on heart.org/losangeles, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or (213) 291-7000.