Market to Mealtime KIDS

With the start of farmers’ markets getting underway for 2018, there are curricula for youth and adults, designed for nutrition education at the farmers’ market and in the classroom.  These display-based curricula include seasonal recipes and handouts with information and resources to increase participants’ self-efficacy to select, prepare and enjoy fruits and vegetables.

During the Fall of 2017, the University of Maryland Extension, Food Supplement Nutrition Education, Maryland’s SNAP-Ed program began to roll out Market to Mealtime KIDS. This curriculum teaches kids the food system, explaining how and where food grows, how it travels to the farmers’ market and grocery store, and then how these foods are eaten at family meals and meals at school.

Market to Mealtime KIDS was adapted for youth from the Market to Mealtime curriculum, which is used at farmers’ markets, food banks, and food pantries. Market to Mealtime KIDS will hopefully follow the successful behavior changes observed with Market to Mealtime:

 

• More than 8 out of 10 adult participants (81%) report that the Market to Mealtime education influenced their purchases at the market that day, with 40% indicating that they would try a new recipe as a result of the tasting opportunity and the take-home materials.
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• 9 out of 10 participants (92%) in Market to Mealtime plan to buy or choose the produce they learned about from FSNE educators.
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• 78% of Market to Mealtime participants plan to involve their families in preparing the fruits and vegetables they obtained from farmers’ markets or food banks.

 

Attached is a recipe as an example of a tool to encourage kids to eat produce at farmer’s markets.

Market to Mealtime KIDS is available in Spanish, (Market to Mealtimes for adults is available in English and Spanish) with lesson plans and recipe cards ready for download. If you have additional questions please contact Lynn Rubin (lrubin@umd.edu (link sends e-mail)) or call 410-715-6903.