Healthy lifestyle choices among students and adults

Nutrition education at a school near you! The Gardens Project has officially unveiled its new nutrition education program, the BEANS Project! The BEANS Project brings great lessons promoting health, nutrition, and gardening to Mendocino County after school programs. Thanks to grant funding from the USDA, NCO’s Better Eating, Activity, and Nutrition for Students (BEANS) Project will use teen peer educators to bring interactive food demonstrations and nutrition education to after school programs throughout the county for the next three years. As an added bonus, the BEANS peer educators will also conduct healthy food demonstrations at summertime farmers markets, family resource centers, and for the after school staff who are responsible for snack planning and preparation. BEANS will focus its activities in Mendocino County’s three largest communities: Fort Bragg, Ukiah, and Willits. The BEANS Project has already conducted its first three lessons with K-2^nd graders and it was declared a hit! Between samples of mango banana smoothies and hot veggie soup we are winning over students and parents and reshaping the way Mendocino families think of healthy eating. Here’s to our health!