Despite important progress in medical and scientific research, obesity remains one of the most significant public health challenges our country has ever faced. Year after year, rates of obesity continue to rise across the nation. Currently (2011), only 11 states and Washington D.C. have adult obesity rates below 25 percent and 12 states have obesity rates above 30 percent. This year, Oregon has joined the states
with adult obesity rates above 25 percent.1 Most experts agree that overconsumption of calories and physical inactivity are the main contributing factors to
the obesity problem. While many Americans believe that eating habits and weight control are personal choices, we also know that choices are not made in a vacuum. There are many barriers to healthy living in America such as poverty, limited access to affordable food, and lack of education. "Where you live, learn, work and play all have a major impact on choices you are able to make."2 From 2008 to 2010, among individuals with a yearly income of $15,000 or less, 34 percent were obese compared to 25 percent of adults who earn $50,000 or more.1
There is a widespread need to promote better eating habits among America’s families. There is no quick fix to address this problem, but through a vegetable garden we may get parents and their children into a different kind of relationship with food by teaching them where their food comes from, the value of eating healthful foods, how to respect and take care of their environment, and the nurturing effects of preparing and eating a meal together as a family as well as with friends at the table.
We have partnered with the Corvallis Environmental Center, to expand their gardening education program for low-income families, the To Grow Box, to include an interactive and engaging nutrition education component. Participation in this program is free. The objectives of the expanded or the new To Grow Box are to educate families on how to grow their own vegetables, the importance of eating a healthful diet with plenty fruits and vegetables, how to cook nutritious and healthy meals with fresh produce, and how healthy dietary habits impact human health and wellbeing.
The To Grow Box is a six-week long program that is offered in the summer at the Sage Community Garden in Corvallis. The garden is operated and maintained by the Corvallis Environmental Center. We plan to offer two six-week long sessions to 24 families. The program will provide participating families with the knowledge and skills they need to plant their own vegetable garden and to incorporate fresh produce into their meal planning. Families will be provided with recipes that are not only healthy and nutritious, but also affordable and tasty. Every week, families will be taking home a box full of fresh produce harvested right from of the garden. Childcare will be provided and children are encouraged to participate in the gardening and cooking. In each class, families will work in the garden, harvest the produce, prepare and cook a meal, and end the day with eating dinner together right in the garden. Gardening topics to be covered include 
garden design, crop rotation, container garden, soil types, organic matter, worm bins, compost making, planting seeds and transplanting starts for winter harvest, weeds, insects, companion planting, water and sunlight needs. Nutrition education will be provided in an informal and interactive way while the families are preparing dinner. Families will be encouraged to ask questions and will be given the opportunity to meet individually with our nutrition educator to discuss their family’s health behaviors and lifestyles. Families will also receive a binder with nutrition information, resources, and recipes, including the ones prepared in class. After the completion of the program, families will be provided with a box filled with gardening supplies to start their very own vegetable garden. Follow-up for technical garden support will be available to participating families for up to one year.
1F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, 2011. Issue Report. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. June 2011.
2F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, 2010. Issue Report. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. June 2010.
