More than 75% of local kids don’t eat the recommended amounts of fruits and veggies. This negatively impacts their health. 

If the rate is so high, it must be hard to get kids to eat their veggies, right? Wrong.

In fact, it couldn’t be easier for Food Literacy Center! It’s easy for us, because we worked with a team of health, education, sociology and nutrition experts to create just the right toolkit. Try these tips at home with your own family!

And please make a donation to help us bring this successful model to more low-income children.

• Create Habits: We repeatedly expose kids to new fruits and veggies. We provide a “Produce of the Day” for them to taste—anything from raw turnips to figs. By giving them a wide variety of new foods to taste (one at a time—not all at once), they become brave food adventurers, willing to eat just about anything and consistently discovering new favorites.
• Positivity: We want food to be fun! We don’t harp on what kids are doing wrong. Instead, we cheerlead, help them learn what to do right, and reaffirm the smart choices they already make, like eating a peanut butter sandwich. Then we help them make small changes, like adding fruit slices to their sandwich instead of jelly. Kids respond by gaining a joyful attitude towards healthy foods. In fact, 91% of kids tell us healthy food tastes good—after just 3 months of food literacy classes.
• Simple Rules: We never force a kid to eat something. We know they’ll find a new favorite eventually. But we do have rules we ask kids to follow. We ask them not to say “eww” or “gross” when they see a new food. They can either taste it or say “no thank you.” This creates a positive atmosphere where exploring new foods is the norm.
• Hands-on: Kids are more likely to taste the foods they make themselves. When we’re introducing kids to a new recipe, we make them the chefs! We let them take as much or as little as they want of a new fruit or veggie. When they get to make the choice themselves they have more fun and often can’t wait to take a bite!

Together, we’re inspiring 2,500 kids a year to eat their veggies! We’re in 28 library branches in Sacramento County, Yolo County and Placer County. We also serve 3 public schools and one public charter school – absolutely free!

Help us move into 10 schools in 2015! Become a member of our Food Literati! Your donation today brings our successful approach to more local, low-income kids.