University of Wisconsin - Extension

A creative gardening project turned Kenosha's Field of Dreams community garden into an interactive classroom this growing season.

Kenosha County Cooperative Extension staff teamed up with Women, Infants and Children staff and participants in an effort to get WIC participants to eat more vegetables.

"The project is effective because it links WIC with existing food programs," explains Pamela Halbach, WIC nutrition director.

"The program was designed to improve participants' nutritional knowledge and provide access to fresh vegetables. Learning about the vegetables being harvested, obtaining recipes and interacting with other WIC families in the garden made nutrition education fun."

Each Friday, Kenosha/Racine UW-Extension nutrition educators talked to WIC participants about the nutritional value of different vegetables and how to shop for and store them. The program also introduced WIC participants to other resources available in their community. WIC participants were encouraged to bring their children and to pick produce from the garden. Children were included in all activities.

"An important key to the program is changing viewpoints of participants from passive recipients of food to active partners in the process of growing their own food, harvesting their own food and ultimately improving their diet through the use of the vegetables in their meal plans," explains John Schluckebier, Kenosha County horticultural agent.

"The goal is to encourage WIC participants to take control of their circumstances in life instead of letting their circumstances control them. The WIC/Cooperative Extension partnership in this program is an excellent example of a way to strengthen the efforts of both agencies through a cooperative effort."

To date more than 225 people have participated in the program. "The program seemed to gain momentum as the growing season progressed. The participants have their own 'WIC garden,' but have access to produce grown throughout the Field of Dreams garden as well," Schluckebier explains. The program will be expanded in the future to accommodate the growing number of participants.

UW-Extension staff considered the ethnic diversity of Kenosha and provided a variety of vegetable seeds and transplants including tomatoes, onions, squash, hot peppers, cabbage, sweet corn, beans, carrots and many more.

The project is an attempt to motivate people to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, Halbach explains. "Preliminary results from the food study conducted by the Kenosha County Cooperative Extension office indicate many families at risk of becoming food insecure or lacking adequate amounts of nutritious foods in their diet. The Kenosha WIC Fruit and Vegetable Report for 1999 showed that 73 percent of participants do not receive the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

The pilot program was made possible through a grant. Because of the program's success, partners hope the program can serve as a model partnership throughout the state. "The need to address availability and consumption of fresh vegetables becomes increasingly important in light of all the research regarding the importance of a balanced diet to building and maintaining a healthy body," adds Schluckebier. "This is particularly critical for children."

Kenosha County Cooperative Extension and the Women, Infants and Children staffs worked together this summer to help families include the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables in their diet.