Gardening program puts power of food in students' hands

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - A local non-profit is helping students change the way they think about food through gardening.

The Edible Peace Patch is a hands-on program designed to created better eating habits through an understanding of where food comes from.

"It's spectacular," Lakewood elementary student Jaylen Johnson said. "You can learn some new things." 

Students in the program plant and maintain their own gardens.

"Really enjoyed working with the children and teaching them where their food comes from," program organizer  and teacher Krista Keisu said. "Incorporating what they are learning in the classroom, and bring it outside."

The program focuses on students at low-income schools, so that the students can pick and eat fresh fruit and vegetables at home. 

"I'm learning what grows, like papayas and everything. It's fun to see what grows," student Melissa Butler said.

"It's good to have gardens, because you get to have healthy foods. You get to get healthy," student Sheldon Sparkes said.

"I know a lot of kids who will eat cooked, liked cooked carrots, cooked broccoli with cheese on it, but to actually see them just pick it out in the garden and eat it fresh was really awesome," Keisu said.

Edible Peace Patch Project is having a fundraiser to next month. To learn more, visit http://tinyurl.com/EPPCultivatingCommunity.