“Seriously, we heart vegetables.”

No joke, that’s a direct quote from a 4th grader that finished the Veggie U program. We know what you’re thinking: “That’s impossible!” But luckily for lots of fourth grade classrooms, we’ve been working for the last two years to bring the Veggie U program to schools. PacificSource has funded this program for classrooms across Oregon, Idaho, and we’re about to launch Veggie U in Montana.

What is Veggie U?

Veggie U offers kits complete with seeds, soil, flats, root view boxes, grow lights, and even worm farms. These materials allow students to get hands-on experience with every stage of vegetable planting, growing, and harvesting. Since the students invest so much time and effort into growing these vegetables, they’re more likely to eat them, and to try other new, healthy foods. To see what we’re talking about, check out this short video.

“We’ve noticed that our kids have started taking more vegetables in the lunch line,” said one fourth grade teacher. “I’ve also heard from several parents that their children are asking for different vegetables once they get home. That alone has been worth the time to offer the program.” We asked the kids who participated what their favorite part of the program was. Besides eating the yummy vegetables they grew themselves, their clear choice was the worm farms!

How our communities are helping

If you’ve seen PacificSource at a community event, you might have already helped the cause. When we ask you to take part in a healthy activity (check your blood pressure, try a healthy snack, exercise, or share a healthy idea), we’re donating $1 on your behalf to Veggie U. So you’re helping yourself, and local classrooms in one swoop. That’s one heck of a double whammy!

It’s exciting to see such a great program be embraced by kids, teachers, and parents. Veggie U has the potential to benefit the lives of hundreds of children in the communities we serve, and PacificSource is proud to sponsor it.

If you’d like to nominate a classroom in your area to receive a Veggie U kit, just fill out this nomination form and tell us why your teacher/classroom would be a good fit for Veggie U. Here’s the form: Veggie U Nomination Form

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