BROOKINGS - SDSU Extension, the South Dakota Discovery Center and Team Nutrition will be hosting two-day trainings on how to implement Harvest of the Month and School & Youth Gardens programs. The trainings will be held in July 2013 at the SDSU Extension Regional Centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Harvest of the Month is an adaptable, easy to use program that gets kids excited about eating fruits and vegetables and has them asking for more. Through a short presentation and produce sampling, children learn about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables every day. The fun and quick presentation explains the history, peak seasons, vitamins and minerals and how to choose the produce. Supplementary materials are adapted for preschool and after school programs as well as promotions for grocery store produce departments.
School & Youth Gardens will provide information for teachers and others who are interested in establishing a school or youth garden. Garden-based learning provides a great opportunity to enhance science and mathematics as well as many other subject areas. It provides a platform for nutrition education and encourages increased fruit and vegetable consumption.
Training Details
The Harvest of the Month training on day one begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m.; it is taught by Danette Jarzab, Community Wellness Coordinator, from the S.D. Discovery Center.
Jarzab will teach attendees about the resources and how to present the Harvest of the Month program to preschool through upper elementary youth. These are short presentations that include produce sampling to teach children about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables every day. Related topics presented by SDSU Extension staff include food safety tips and how to cook with kids.
This training will teach attendees how to put together fun and quick presentations to different youth ages. Implementation can be done in individual classrooms, health classes, PE classes, as an assembly for the school, or any out of school program. Check out http://www.sdharvestofthemonth.org for more information, all current materials, plus new materials for PreK and OST to be posted in May.
School & Youth Gardens, organized by SDSU Extension begins at 9 a.m. on day two and concludes at 4 p.m. Discussions will include connecting educational gardens with utilizing fresh garden produce for the classroom, age-appropriate gardening activities, organic gardening, butterfly gardening, and core subjects for the classroom. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour an existing school or youth garden program in the community.
2013 Training dates and locations
· July 9-10: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. CDT, Sioux Falls, S.D. - SDSU Extension Regional Center, 2001 E. 8th St.
· July 23-24: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. MDT, Rapid City, S.D. - SDSU West River Ag Center, 1905 N. Plaza Drive.
Registration information
Harvest of the Month Training is available free of charge. Individuals or teams representing schools and agencies that are enrolled with USDA's Team Nutrition are eligible to register for a $150 stipend to help with travel expenses. Up to two team members per school are eligible for the funding which is open to the first 15 participants at each location. Additional team members may enroll but will not receive a stipend for mileage or room.
Sites receiving the training stipend are expected to implement aspects of the Harvest of the Month campaign. Following the training schools/agencies that are enrolled in Team Nutrition may apply for a limited number of competitive implementation mini-grants of $500.
The School & Youth Gardens workshop costs $30 per participant. Registration deadlines are July 2 for Sioux Falls and July 16 for Rapid City. Each day of the training may be attended independently.
Registration forms are available at iGrow.org/events or the Team Nutrition website at http://doe.sd.gov/cans/teamnutrition.aspx. Mail or FAX applications to Karlys Wells, SWG 212 Box 2275A, Brookings, SD 57007, FAX 605-688-6360. Address questions to 605-688-4039, karlys.wells@sdstate.edu.
These trainings are partially funded by SD Team Nutrition/Department of Education, SDSU Extension, SD Discovery Center, Avera St. Mary's Foundation, and SD Community Transformation Grant.
