LA Sprouts After School Program Launched at Milagro Allegro Community Garden
The following is an email from the director of our local community garden about a new afterschool program they have launched:
Please see the attached press release for the new “LA Sprouts” after school program that we are launching this week at the Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park. This 12-week program will teach gardening, cooking and nutrition on Tuesday and Friday afternoons at the garden to 4th and 5th graders from LAUSD’s Loreto Elementary School enrolled in LA’s BEST. The goal of LA Sprouts is reduce the risk of obesity and encourage healthy eating habits in children. Monthly visits to the Old LA Farmer’s market in Highland Park are planned as part of the curriculum.
This program has been several months in development, has involved tremendous collaborative efforts from a number of groups, and we are very excited to see it getting off the ground. The nutrition and cooking component will be taught by PhD students from USC’s Department of Preventive Medicine Childhood Obesity Research Center. The gardening component will be taught by Master Gardeners from the UC Extension Common Ground program with assistance from Homegirl Cafe.
Funding for LA Sprouts is provided by a Community Benefit Grant from Kaiser Permanente. The Cypress Park Neighborhood Council has committed funds for Gold Line passes for students. The North Figueroa Association will provide vouchers that may be used by students at the Old LA Farmer’s Market in Highland Park. The South Central Farmers will supply fresh organic produce for the cooking classes. A talented young designer from Art Center College of Design designed and fabricated a mobile kitchen island for the project. Whole Foods Market Arroyo will supply cooking staples, cleaning supplies, and kitchen utensils promoting more plant-based, whole food options, as part of their larger commitment to the community and healthy eating education. Slow Food Los Angeles has also contributed to the program and is continuing the partnership that began last year when Milagro Allegro Community Garden hosted one of the Slow Food “Time for Lunch” events aimed to improve food served in schools.
This program is unique in that we will be collecting data to assess the impact of this program on health outcomes including childhood obesity, blood pressure, dietary intake and other nutritional behaviors related to healthy eating.
Thank you for your continued interest and support of Milagro Allegro Community Garden.
One Response to “LA Sprouts After School Program Launched at Milagro Allegro Community Garden”
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What a great program & opportunity, I get a smile on my face every time I walk by the community garden. Keep us all posted, I would love to come down and film one of the classes if they would like to do that.