Story in Brief
UGA Extension Fulton County’s Fulton Fresh program is a multigenerational nutrition education program, which integrates youth, agriculture, and family and consumer science programming in an urban community. The purpose of Fulton Fresh is to increase awareness and consumption of in-season, local produce through hands-on educational programming and the Fulton Fresh Mobile Market. Fulton County 4-H launched the Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market in the summer of 2020 to provide healthy living and STEM educational programs, coupled with access to fresh fruit to youth in K-12th grade. The Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market distributed 9,597 pounds (approximately 4.8 tons) of fresh in-season produce to youth ranging from 18 months to 18 years old and reached approximately 1,500 households in 40 different zip codes. Along with bags of fresh produce, 2,650 STEM and healthy living activity kits were distributed for youth to complete program activities at home (the program distributed approximately 250 kits a week for a total of 10 weeks). Additionally, 14 Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market videos were created for distribution via social media. A total of 112 minutes of educational video were created with step-by-step instructions and demonstrations of weekly recipes and STEM activities, along with virtual field trips to local Georgia farms. Evaluation results suggest that participation in the Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market led to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased interest in science and healthy living topics among youth. One parent wrote, "I really appreciate all of the FRESH fruit and vegetables. Many organizations try to address food insecurity; however Fulton fresh is unique in that they provided fresh foods, not pre-made or packaged or canned foods." Another parent wrote, "The program was great for my 13-year-old. As a result of the activities, she started growing herbs and vegetables. Some items were sprouted from seeds. She really enjoyed learning from the digital library resources."
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