The Impact of Farm-to-School Programming on Youth Nutritional Health Outcomes

Background: To assess the impact of a school-based garden/farm program on nutritional health outcomes among youth who participated in our pilot farm-to-school initiative. Methods: We modified and administered previously published questionnaires designed to assess self-reported fruit and vegetable taste preferences and fruit and vegetable intakes among 4th and 5th grade children in two distinct inner-city Title 1 Elementary Schools located within South Carolina during the 2012/2013 academic school year. Pre- and post-program questionnaire data were collected for 68 intervention group participants and 47 non-intervention group participants. Results: Findings suggest that youth participation in farm-to-school experiential learning activities such as school-based gardening/farming is associated with improved fruit and vegetable taste preferences as well as intakes, which are important implications for public health nutrition policy and practice. Conclusions: Future research is needed to further explore the impact of farm-to-school experiential learning activities on youth nutritional health outcomes.