Making it Work for You!

The Veggiecation Program was designed with the understanding that all schools have different resources and limitations.  Therefore, the program was created to be highly adaptable.

• In the School

• After School and At Summer Camps

• Outside of School
• Free Kids Cooking Classes at Select Whole Foods Markets in NJ, NY, & CT.

In the school

Veggiecation Provides the tools to:

• Feature and teach about a “Special Veggie”

• Conduct veggie tastings and allow students to vote

•  Reward students with “I Tried It” Stickers

• Give student families our simple, healthy recipes and nutrition tips

Working with Your School Food Service Provider:

Our Seasonal Lunchtime Lesson Plan provides easy to follow recipes to incorporate in school lunch menus or lunchtime tastings.  Our recipes are designed to yield the large serving needs and nutrition requirements of school food.

~*~ We have also partnered with the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food to promote plant-based entrees on NYC school lunch menus ~*~

Cooking in the Classroom:

Memorable hands-on experiences make the greatest impact!  Veggiecation Recipes are affordable and simple enough to be created in classrooms for fun, kids cooking activities with students - no kitchen required!

Assemblies:

A health presentation and cooking demo is a great way to get the whole school involved with Veggiecation.  Our entertaining and interactive assemblies send students home with recipes, nutrition tips, and activity pages.

Lessons:

It’s hard to find the time to dedicate a whole lesson plan to just nutrition, but incorporating nutrition into different subjects is easy!  Repetitive exposure throughout the day builds relationships with wholesome foods and healthful veggies!

• Math Lessons: Tallying votes and using fractions when cooking creates the opportunity for a math lesson!

• Literacy Lessons: Learning about veggies presents opportunities for persuasive literacy and creative writing lessons!

• Language Lessons: All posters now available in English and Spanish!

• Earth Science Lessons:  Vegetable education creates many possible lessons for earth science concepts.

• Artistic Expressions: Drawing, coloring, paper parsnips!  Simple and fun activities easily bring fun into the kitchen!

• Being Musical:  Singing out the love vegetables is a great way to engage students!  “Veggiecation Across the Nation” is an upbeat, super catchy theme song that students can’t stop singing!

• Physical Education:  Dance is an extremely popular way inspire people of all ages to be active.  Our step by step instructional video will get your students movin’ and groovin’ in a fun, fresh way!

Cooking After School and in the Summer:

Cooking is an essential skill for having a healthy life, so why not teach kids at a young age?  Veggiecation healthy kids cooking classes not only provide basic cooking tips to children, nutrition information is also incorporated throughout the lessons.  Educational posters are utilized to highlight the Who, What, When, Where and Why of the featured “Veggie of the Day”.  Kids cooking classes are perfect for any enrichment program, including:

• Girl/Boy Scouts 

• Summer Camps

• Birthday Parties

• After- School Programs

• Farmer’s Markets

• Health & Environment Fairs

• Community Block Parties

• And More!

Veggiecation Outside of School:

There are many ways to educate communities about the incredible benefits and delicious ways to cook veggies. Our program is enjoyed in hospital clinics, health fairs, senior citizen homes, personal homes, and Whole Foods Markets.

Why it Works:

The sense of ownership created as an outcome of creating meals together during our cooking classes and interactive nutrition lessons empowers them to try new foods creation! 

•  Students love to express their opinions!  Having a chance to vote on how they like each recipe encourages students to taste new veggies.

•  Students participating in the preparation process alleviate their worries about trying something new.

•  Research strongly supports that eating nutrient-rich, whole foods directly correlates with enhanced academic success 1,2,3

•  Nutrition education doesn’t need to be boring, we strive to make it fun!

Free Kids Cooking Classes!

Click here to see what Whole Foods Market stores hold our free kids cooking classes!

       1 Nansel, T., et al (2009). Association of school performance indicators with implementation of the Healthy Kids, Smart Kids programme: case study.Public Health Nutrition Journal, 13 (01), 116-122.  

2 Florence, M., et al (2008). Diet Quality and Academic Performance. Journal of School Health, 78 (4), 209-215. 

3 Haire-Joshu, D., et al (2008). High 5 for Kids: The impact of a home visiting program on fruit and vegetable intake of parents and their preschool children. Preventive Medicine Journal, 47 (1), 77-82.