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A Community Garden for the Alternative Healthy Cooking Class
| Name | Suzanne Holmes | | Situation | According to 2003 statistics, 13% of the population of Aiken live below the poverty level. Many low income residents of Aiken County worry about their next meal. This food insecurity shows itself not in the lack of calories so much as the overabundance of poor food choices. They choose high fat content foods over fruit, vegetables, and high fiber foods in their diets. As a result, health problems, such as diabetes, arise. Teaching better food habits can make a big difference in the quality of life for these individuals. | | Response | Blond Simmons, coordinator of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Educational Program (EFNEP) in Aiken County, partnered with Katherine Derrick of the Aiken Free Medical Clinic, a nonprofit organization that delivers health care to the medically underserved, in teaching the EFNEP Alternative
Healthy Cooking Class. This class educates limited resource clientele on nutrition, healthy cooking, and lifestyle changes to enhance their health. Twenty-two people were enrolled in the class. As part of this program, the clients wanted to grow their own food. However, they didn't have a lot of gardening expertise. Suzanne Holmes, Horticulture Extension Agent, was contacted and through her the Aiken Master Gardener Association agreed to help. A winter garden was planted with cabbage, mustard greens, radishes, collards, and turnip greens. A worker at the Free Medical Clinic allowed use of her land for the garden. | | Impact | An estimate of 75 pounds of produce was harvested from the garden. The teachers used the produce grown in the garden for food demonstrations and the clients also took some home. As a result of the class, from April to December, 17 of the participants lost weight for a total of 124 pounds and 7 reduced their blood sugar levels (A1C). This kind of involvement in a garden gives people a commitment to their neighborhood, community, and their food system. One study estimates that gardening can add $500 to $1200 worth of produce per year to a family's diet -- a critical difference for low-income families. There is also an intrinsic value of gardening of working together in tilling the earth as well as the exercise involved. This program was a great success and a summer garden is scheduled to be planted by the group with the expertise from the Aiken
Master Gardeners in April if funding permits. |
Last update7/11/2008
This website is maintained by Vickie Browder.
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