By Marie Pfeifer
Eighty kids got a taste of nutritional know-how at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown on Monday.
Vacation Bible School students sampled the Growing Healthy Kids program, served by the Walmart Foundation and the Community Soup Kitchen.
The program gives children of working families an opportunity to learn about the benefits of nutritious eating while having fun through interactive games and activities.
Through The Enormous Turnip, a a Ukrainian Folk tale told by America’s Grow A Row volunteers Sally Zeiner and Kathy Rowe, the kids learned a little about how food is grown.
The kids were given cucumbers, raspberries and plums to taste and some information about growing vegetables and fruit.
“Many of the kids had never tasted plums and raspberries before today,” Zeiner said.
Some were reluctant, but peer pressure often convinced them to have a taste, and a few minds were changed.
The program was made possible in part by a $30,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation, which also provided bags of school supplies to each child, according to Kelly Auroyansen, a Walmart representative.
The Community Soup Kitchen is feeding more working families than ever before, and during the summer it provides lunches for children who are not receiving free school lunches. The Soup kitchen also offers Free Farmers Markets four times a week to working families.
Marla Drury of the soup kitchen said the Morristown organization has partnered in these programs with America’s Grow A Row, a nonprofit in Pittstown, thanks to a $100,000 grant from Impact100 .
