Kids will learn healthy choices through Harvest of the Month

Farm Fresh To You and Capay Organic announced last month their partnership with Yolo County to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to Yolo County’s elementary and Head Start school lunch programs through Harvest of the Month.

The program connects to core curricular areas and provides educators with materials and resources to motivate students to make healthy choices through hands-on experience with fruits and vegetables. Nutrition fact sheets will be made available to approximately 16,000 elementary and preschool students in Yolo County.

Farm Fresh To You is a local Community Supported Agriculture program that delivers organic produce to homes and offices. Capay Organic has been farming organically in Yolo County since 1996.

“Healthy eating has a profound impact on improving our children’s ability to learn. Getting involved in this program was a moral imperative for our farm,” said Thaddeus Barsotti, chief farmer and co-CEO of Farm Fresh To You/Capay Organic. “We want to connect people with the farms that grow their food, and we want to help young students develop healthy eating habits that will serve them well their whole lives.”

Harvest of the Month allows students to learn about a new fruit or vegetable each month, starting in October with sweet peppers. Sweet peppers will be part of salads, pizzas and other dishes in Yolo County schools. In the future, students will explore persimmons in November, kale in December, citrus in January, broccoi in February, carrots in March, asparagus in April and strawberries in May.

“We are fortunate to live in a county that grows amazing fruits and vegetables. It only makes sense to design a plan to get this produce in the hands of our youngest generation,” said Yolo County Supervisor Jim Provenza. “Harvest of the Month provides nutrition education, a direct connection to the farmers who grow our food and establishes healthy eating habits for our kids — a winning combination of priorities.”

For more information on Harvest of the Month, visit www.harvestofthemonth.com and www.harvesthubyolo.org/farm-to-school.