Produce for Kids, a philanthropic organization bringing the produce industry and consumers together to provide an education platform to promote healthy eating and help raise funds for children’s nonprofit organizations, has entered its second Healthy Families, Helping Kids campaign on firm footing.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Donors-

Choose.org. again this year and continuing to help our grocery retail partners support local classrooms in their areas,” said Produce for Kids President John Shuman. The organization was created by Shuman Produce Inc. in 2002. Since its creation, Produce for Kids has raised more than $4.2 million to benefit children.

This is the second year Produce for Kids has sponsored the Healthy Families, Helping Kids campaign. Through October, signage relating to the program will be prominently displayed in the produce departments of participating retail stores. (Photo courtesy of Produce for Kids)The online charity, DonorsChoose.org., brings school teachers together with individuals and organizations wishing to fund educational programs. To date, 230,000 public and charter school teachers have used DonorsChoose.org to secure $120 million in books, art supplies, technology and other resources to enhance student learning. All funds raised during the campaign will go to match public donations to participating projects in each grocer’s local communities.

“We’re helping to educate kids, both at home and in the classroom, on the importance of at healthy diet with fresh fruits and vegetables by funding health and nutrition-based projects,” Shuman said.

Last year, this strategic alliance raised more than $169,000 and supported projects in 652 classrooms throughout the United States.

“We are proud to partner with Produce for Kids and participating retailers to bring healthy eating resources into public schools,” said Janelle Lin, vice president of partnerships and business development for DonorsChoose.org. “We can’t wait to build on the momentum of last year’s campaign to help improve the eating habits of students across the country.”

According to Produce for Kids, over 20 fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers will support the campaign by making a consumption-based donation to DonorsChoose.org. to help local schools.

“The more items from participating companies that shoppers add to their grocery lists, the more local classrooms benefit,” the organization said in a statement. “Grocery retail partners participating in the campaign include ACME Markets; Meijer Stores; and Publix Super Markets.”

During September and October, shoppers will find signage featuring characters from “The Chica Show,” a popular PBS Sprout Network television program, in the produce departments of more than 1,300 grocery stores in 15 states. This signage will alert consumers to the presence of healthy meal planning tools, campaign information, 120 Ideal Meal recipes and tips and solutions available at www.produceforkids.com.

Through Lazy Town, a partnership between Produce for Kids and Sprout, Sprout characters will participate in in-store activities to encourage exercise and healthy eating. According to Produce for Kids, “Sprout will promote the campaign through daily national campaign-focused television spots and web banners on www.SproutOnline.com, which receives more than one million visits monthly.”

The Produce News had an opportunity learn more about the positive impact Produce for Kids and DonorsChoose.org. have had in the lives of school children. Ronak Shah, a middle school teacher of mathematics and science at the Tindley Preparatory Academy in Indianapolis, and Kathy Sergeant, an elementary school teacher at the Ronald Brown Academy in Detroit, MI, said the program has facilitated learning that will last a lifetime.

Shah received funding for his second proposal with DonorsChoose.org entitled, “Teaching Young Men To Cook, Part 2: School Restaurant.” In his proposal, he wrote, “Healthy food is hard to come by in my school community. Grocery stores are far and few, and there is little time to cook a healthy meal. But my students crave fresh produce and nutritious, home cooked meals. This is why I seek the resources to create help my students create a student-run restaurant.”

The program also has support from the local community both through donations and in-kind support.

Tindley is an all-boys school which opened its doors two years ago. While the school does not have dedicated kitchen space for the boys to cook in, they are able to move their equipment into uncarpeted areas when the classrooms are not occupied.

During last year’s program, Shah said students met once a week to choose a recipe and cook it. “Now it’s a daily thing,” he told The Produce News.

Shah said 15 students are participating in this year’s cooking club. Three activities are stressed: recipe selection, trying a new raw produce item, and watching documentaries or gathering information about food security.

The cooking club has helped push out the boundaries of foods with which the students are familiar. “We’ve been very, very pleased,” Shah said, adding that the boys have prepared items such as spinach artichoke dip, stuffed bell peppers, fajita tacos and pita bread pizzas.

“Now they are doing regular recipes,” he replied. “They are becoming curious about more international dishes.”

Activities begin on Mondays when the students select a recipe they will make that week. Emphasis is placed on choosing recipes which can be re-created at home. “On Tuesdays, we work in our school garden,” Shah said. The garden includes raised beds and rain barrels. “On Wednesdays, we actually cook.”

The learning process moves outdoors on Thursdays as the students operate a food stand in an urban setting near the school. “We have a partnership with the Indy East Food Desert Coalition,” Shah stated. The stand is prominently featured on the coalition’s Facebook page.

The community is encouraged to visit the stand. “The kids will tell people who visit about the produce they have,” Shah said. Visitors are able to get free produce, and the students take a bag of fresh items home on Thursdays for a job well done.

Shah said classroom learning has had a positive impact at home. “Last year, a student helped his mom with a meal,” he recalled. “He measured the ingredients and prepared everything. The mom was very surprised and pleased he did this.”

The cooking club is giving the boys a chance to broaden their culinary horizons. “One kid claimed he hated mushrooms,” Shah said. “But he loved the dish that was prepared.”

And the power of peer pressure should not be discounted. Shah illustrated saying the willingness of students to try something like a raw turnip inspires others who may be more reluctant. “It’s like a ripple effect,” he said of the process.

Shah said he is proud of the level of trust the students have shown in him as they continue to move past their culinary comfort zones. And the pupils are making another long-range connection with cooking: Some are already realizing the potential for a career in the culinary arts.

The first project funded by DonorsChoose.org helped the students acquire equipment needed for their cooking activities. “Now my students need the kitchen utensils and serving supplies such as dishes, aprons, towels to be able to translate their cooking skills into application, creating a real, student-run restaurant to serve late afternoon snacks to peers and community members,” Shah wrote in the second proposal.

The Tindley program has become so successful that the students have also worked with their sister school to create community banquets.

Kathy Sergeant teaches fourth grade at the Ronald Brown Academy, a co-educational school with students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. In 2005, the school received funds to construct an onsite greenhouse. “Then the greenhouse was vandalized,” she told The Produce News. Eventually, a fence was constructed around the greenhouse, and a gate was installed to protect it.

Sergeant came to the academy in 2009. “Six raised beds were added with dirt,” she said. “But there was still no interest.” Creation of a butterfly garden eventually sparked the imagination of the students and rekindled interest in the greenhouse. And today, the students are proud of their gardening club.

“I stay for an hour or so after school one night a week,” she told The Produce News. The students are able to become part of the program if parent sign them up during Back To School Night.

In her proposal to DonorsChoose.org, Sergeant said, “Our students love working outside and growing plants. My students are inner city children. They are interested in all living things. I have a garden club after school, and we are trying to make use of the greenhouse as we learn about the environment. The students have come up with the idea of growing vegetables and selling or donating the harvest.”

Sergeant asked for funding of a mini-greenhouse that could be located inside her classroom. “I am requesting a mini greenhouse so we can start seeds in the winter, also seeds and potting soil to get us started,” she said in her proposal. “This experience would be beneficial in so many ways. The children would learn the scientific process of spouting, transplanting and harvesting a crop. They would learn about the business end of producing and manufacturing as well as advertising and selling. This project would be a cross curricular learning activity they will remember forever.”

In addition to the mini-greenhouse, funds from DonorsChoose.org also helped the school acquire some landscape fabric.

The growing activities have been a source of awe and amazement for the students. “They didn’t realize where produce comes from,” Sergeant stated. “Because they are urban kids, they don’t know much about agriculture.”

One student expressed amazement, she said, upon seeing an actual tomato. The only familiarity the student had with the fruit, Sergeant said, was in its sliced form found on a hamburger.

The students are learning how to grow lettuce and other items in the outdoor raised beds. And they have already harvested fresh produce to make items such as salsa.

The main greenhouse is 30 feet square, and Sergeant hopes that one day the school will also be able to offer an outdoor classroom.

The children’s success story is also reflected in renewed community interest. “The garden is fantastic. This is a community garden,” Sergeant said. “People are keeping an eye out on the garden for its safety.”