By Jeanette Stehr-Green
Can gardening provide more than nutritious food for your table?
Clallam County Master Gardeners partnered with Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics free clinic, First Step Family Support Center and Port Angeles Community Gardens to find out.
Through a locally developed program called “Growing Healthy,” the partners set out to determine whether gardening could help local low-income people with or at risk for diabetes eat better, get more exercise and feel better.
Growing Healthy was based on research that shows that through growing their own food, children and adults become more invested in what they eat and make more nutritious food choices.
Growing Healthy participants were recruited from VIMO, FSFSC and other local agencies and organizations including Clallam County Women, Infants and Children; the Port Angeles Food Bank; Clallam County Head Start; Peninsula Behavioral Health; and Clallam County Family YMCA.
All participants had the opportunity to talk with a nurse educator about diabetes before the program started.
Growing Healthy sessions started in early May and ran through the summer. A diverse group of 16 adults and three older children participated including several young mothers, a couple of grandparents and one military veteran. Ages ranged from 10 to 65 years.
Each week, Growing Healthy participants, volunteers and staff gathered at the 5th Street Community Garden in Port Angeles for a 2-hour gardening or cooking session. Gardening sessions, led by Clallam County Master Gardeners, covered vegetable gardening basics (preparing the soil, planting, transplanting, watering, fertilizing, and weeding). Participants worked in the community garden side by side with Master Gardeners.
Cooking sessions, led by Betsy Wharton, revolved around using produce from the garden (harvested by participants themselves) and demonstrated different methods of food preparation including baking, stove-top, stir-fry and grilling.
Because of child care needs, a concurrent program, “Growing Healthy Kids,” was started for children and grandchildren of Growing Healthy participants. The program led by Christine Loewe and Martin Shaughnessy included a fun combination of activities such as digging in the dirt, talking about plants, doing art projects and physical activity (like scavenger hunts).
Did we make a difference?
All participants (adults and children) clearly enjoyed the program and the sense of community that developed through it. Participants and program organizers became friends and looked forward to seeing each other each week.
At the end of the project, Growing Healthy participants reported that they were
• Eating more fruits and vegetables.
• Getting more exercise.
• Feeling better (more motivated, having more energy, not as tired).
Participants were proud of their efforts and brought others to the Community Garden to see the Growing Healthy plots. Many shared plants and vegetables from the garden or gardening knowledge with neighbors and friends.
Although no measures of diabetes control were undertaken, the ability to impact nutrition and exercise among low-income, underserved community members and their children was viewed positively.
VIMO received funding from the American Medical Association Foundation and local businesses to undertake Growing Healthy, competing with hundreds of clinics from across the country for the grant. Many other businesses and individuals also contributed.
Organizers hope to repeat the project next year. To donate to or become involved in the “Growing Healthy” project, contact Zoe Apisdorf, VIMO development coordinator, at development@vimoclinic.org or call 457-4431.
Editor’s note: The following businesses and individuals contributed to Growing Healthy: American Medical Association Foundation, First Federal, The Home Depot, Gibson Design Group, Anjo Soil, Bella Itali, John Wiesman, Washington State Secretary of Health, Clallam Conservation District, Karen Haines and Sandi Lucas Sign, The Clallam Canning Company, Jody Moss, Gary Kriedberg, Mark Triggs and Manuela Mogden.
