STUDENTS EDUCATED IN ENVIRONMENT, DIET, AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our children are our most precious resource.
Children comprise the most vulnerable section of our population.
They have neither autonomy nor agency, regardless of their economic situation, housing status, race, skin color, religion, or national origin. While some may indeed be worse off than others, children are always at the mercy of the people and environment around them.
Lack of healthy food.
In the United States, one of the biggest issues children face is access to genuinely healthy food that supports their growth and development and their ability to learn.
(Host School TBD)
The goal of 6 Million SEEDS is to reach students, educators, and classroom parents or school dietary personnel through direct experience of healthy foods and frequent exposure to evidence-based nutrition education created by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Food For Life curriculum and other vetted sources for elementary school children. It is called 6 Million SEEDS for 3 reasons.
One: because there are 6 primary plant foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts/seeds, legumes, and mushrooms).
Two: SEEDS is an acronym for Students Educated in Environment, Diet, and Sustainability.
Three: Imagine if we had more kids who were well educated and well-nourished, we could change the trajectory of life on Earth.
The school-based portion focuses on teaching school-age children about eating more fruits and vegetables, as recommended in the US dietary guidelines. This is a direct action project with no negatives. In fact, teaching children to eat more healthy, protective foods and less refined junk food is beneficial in both the long and short term. In the short term, it helps the students stay healthy, supports their immune responses, and helps them focus and attend to lessons in the classroom. In the long term, healthy food will help children grow up to be healthy adults who support a healthy world.
Originally, based on the concepts of the USDA farm-to-school program, the 6 Million SEEDS project was created in October of 2021 to address the dismal state of nutrition in school-age children. Since the pandemic spurred the US government to provide two free meals to every child Monday through Friday, the quality of the food offered has declined even further. Sadly, a lot of the food is so poorly prepared, unappealing, or unpalatable that the children would rather go hungry than eat what is provided by well-meaning school food service staff. 6 Million SEEDS seeks to address this problem.
Launched January 2022
Hosted by: Meryl Fury, MS, RN, Pres/CEO Plant Based Nutrition Movement and Co-Founder, Sage Circle Alliance
Podcast is available on your favorite channels, including:
The goal of the Growing a Healthy Child Podcast is to reach the adults most directly responsible for decisions about feeding children, namely parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. Through the podcast medium, they will hear this message in many different ways from many different voices so that adults can make informed decisions about the food recommended for and given to children.
The goal of the Growing a Healthy Child Podcast is to reach the key adults responsible for children's nutrition-parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. Through the podcast, these decision-makers will hear crucial messages from diverse voices, empowering them to make informed choices about the food recommended for and given to children.
By partnering with the Sage Circle Alliance (SCA), the 6 Million Seeds project stands to significantly expand its reach and recognition. The collaboration allows both organizations to pool their resources, networks, and influence, amplifying the shared mission of improving child nutrition and well-being. Together, they can create a larger impact, ensuring that vital nutritional education reaches more communities and that children benefit from healthier food choices nationwide.
"The future belongs to our children" is not just a nice slogan, it's reality. They are our greatest natural resource and deserve to ise treated as such! The question that needs to be asked, however, is how well are we preparing them to meet the demands of that future? Children who are well-nourished (not to be confused with "abundantly fed") with delicious, health-promoting, nutrient-rich foods will grow into adults better fortified to face their challenges! The current "food" system, however, is letting all of us down. Calories and nutrients are two different things. We need only take a peek into any classroom in America to know we've got that "calorie" thing down pat. It's well past time to focus our attention on the nutrients!
We have a vision of a future for our children putting their health at the center of our focus. We hope you'll join us in that effort!
Feel free to hover your mouse over any of the testimonials to pause the slides to give you time to read!
