FEED USA

Sample Essay: Because children spend much of their time in the school setting, schools have the opportunity to play a large role in the adoption of healthy living habits. There are many ways to present nutrition education, but gardening provides a fun, interactive way to teach and learn healthy eating habits.

Benefits of using gardening to teach nutrition include:

• Providing a site for hands-on learning and to practice using the scientific method.
• Exciting children about eating fruits and vegetables that they grew themselves.
• Teaching students to appreciate how their food is grown (Carrots do not magically appear on grocery store shelves.)
• Food safety instruction through proper harvesting, processing and storage.
• Practice preparing nutritious foods and try new foods to expand their diets.

Nutrition education through school gardening will increase children's knowledge about fruits and vegetables and will improve their attitudes towards healthy eating habits. Help us garden together!

Materials to bring this to life: Earthbox kit, potting mix, and fertilizer.

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Carolina Biological Company, Sargent-Welch, Quill, Kaplan Early Learning Company

Sample Essay: Children love to cook, and the classroom provides a wealth of opportunities for them to do so. A cooking activity is a great change of pace for students and teachers alike and is also a good reinforcement of the early learning of life skills. While many subjects easily incorporate the use of cooking in the classroom, cooking blends particularly well with math, reading, and science.

Children are increasingly the caretakers of their own nutrition. Children who do not know how to cook often rely on packaged foods throughout the day. For a growing number of students, nutrition education can really work when concepts are practical and applied, emphasizing skills like sanitation, safe food handling, and basic food preparation skills. Cooking projects give children a boost in confidence, exposure to new and healthful foods, and often provide the curiosity and motivation to continue cooking at home.

Help us get a cooking kit and cookbooks in our classroom so that we can cook together!

Materials to bring this to life: Cooking kit and cookbooks.

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Lakeshore Learning, Barnes and Noble, Nasco, Best Buy

Sample Essay: Many students do not have adequate food in their homes for a healthy breakfast. Skipping what is universally referred to as the “most important meal of the day” sets the tone for student performance throughout the day. When students skip breakfast, they are likely to become tired because their brains are low on fuel.

Students who have breakfast in the morning exhibit:

• Improved attendance and less tardiness
• Concentration, alertness, energy
• Improved overall academic performance

By providing a refrigerator for our classroom, you will be providing the equipment necessary to help children begin the school day with a healthy meal, and will provide them with the opportunity for a brighter future. By supporting this project, you will also help provide resources necessary to preserve fruits, vegetables and dairy products for a continued healthy eating throughout the afternoon!

Materials to bring this to life: Classroom refrigerator

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Best Buy, Quill, Lab Safety Supply

Sample Essay: Many students do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables so they are unable to get the nutrients they need for a healthy diet. Help us preserve these food items and bring healthy eating to my students and our classroom!

By preserving these foods in a freezer, their availability throughout the school year can be ensured for my students. Most frozen fruits maintain high quality for 8 to 12 months when frozen and frozen vegetables retain their nutrient quality for 12 to 18 months. We’ll be able to have healthy foods at school and teach students the importance of a balanced diet.

By providing this freezer, you will give students access to fresh fruits and vegetables and will prepare them for a longer, healthier future. This is the start!

Materials to bring this to life: Classroom freezer

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Best Buy, Lab Safety Supply

Sample Essay: All living things must have water to survive, whether they get it from a water fountain, a rain cloud, or a little bottle attached to the side of a hamster cage. Without water, your body would stop working properly. Water makes up more than half of your body weight and a person can't survive for more than a few days without it. Students who are not hydrated properly may have trouble staying focused. They also may make the choice to drink soda or other high sucrose drinks such as artificially flavored fruit juices instead.

Reusable water bottles offer an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective alternative to sugary drinks. Students can re-fill their water bottles throughout the day, staying hydrated and healthy in order to reach their full potential.

Dehydration can keep kids from being as fast and as sharp as they would like to be. Keeping water bottles handy when the weather warms up and during high energy activities is an important part of staying healthy. Help students get the materials they need to reach their full potential.

Materials to bring this to life: Water bottles

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Cannon Sports

Sample Essay: Help my students avoid the trap of sugary sodas and milkshakes by providing them with the materials necessary to create their own fruit smoothies!

The secret to really great smoothies is in the blender! Fruit smoothies are easy to put together and are a great source of daily nutrients. Students can use whatever fruit is available, and just add a little milk, yogurt and ice cubes. It’s that simple! I hope to bring this interactive activity to my classroom, to teach students about healthy eating each day.

A blender will allow my students to be creative in their recipes, while avoiding the trap of sugary sodas and milkshakes. Thanks for helping bring this project to life.

Materials to bring this to life: Blender

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Best Buy, Carolina Biological Supply Company, Lab Safety Supply

Sample Essay: Eating fruits and vegetables is an integral part of a healthy diet. There are more fruits and vegetables available in fresh, frozen, canned, and dried forms than ever before. Taking the time to introduce a variety of fruits and vegetables to kids can help develop a lifetime of healthy habits.

Research has shown that children significantly increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when given a variety of choices in a school salad bar. By increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables through salad bars in schools, we can provide students with personal experience, making healthy choices that can shape behavior far beyond the school lunch line.

Help bring a salad bar to our school lunchroom. It will make a huge impact on students today and into the future.

Materials to bring this to life: Salad Bar

Vendors to search on DonorsChoose.org: Currently not available through DonorsChoose.org Express Vendors. Teachers with 6 or more points may request this item through a Special Request. Potential outside vendors include samsclub.com and mychefstore.com.

Sample Essay: My students don’t know where their food comes from and don’t understand the difference between processed and fresh foods. Experiencing a farmers market or local farm would show them first hand where their food comes from and exactly what fresh means!

Through a field trip to a local farm or farmers marker, students can learn about the food system, meet local farmers, and gain first-hand experience in preparing produce that can be purchased fresh at the market. The trip will include a guided market tour, hands-on instruction and recipes for students to take home and share with family and friends.

Support this project and help students learn first-hand about healthy eating.

Materials to bring this to life: Teachers with 6 or more points may submit this as a class trip request on DonorsChoose.org.

Vendors to search: Find a local farmers market near your school!