Veggie Blog

What is your answer to the questions, “What keeps you from eating as healthy as you should?”  For me, it’s my sweet tooth—I love ice cream.  For some of my coworkers it’s a time issue.  When they get off of work at 6:30 they are tired and fast food or a microwave meal presents a quick and satisfying dinner option.  However, we make conscious choices everyday about what we eat and we have the knowledge and resources to try to avoid unhealthy things when we can.  But some people feel that they might not have a choice about how healthy they eat.  The Veggie Project conducted a survey of the Super Shoppers in the Andrew Jackson neighborhood to find out more about their constraints to a healthy diet. 

One male responded that healthy food was too far away to get.  Instead he said that it was easier to purchase dinner at Church’s chicken, where one chicken wing has 300 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat, and 3 grams of trans fat.  In fact, 80% of the respondents said that fast food restaurants are more prevalent in their area making them the easiest option for dinner.

One woman living in the Andrew Jackson area faces extreme challenges in maintaining a healthy diet while on dialysis.  She explained that a “market man” sometimes comes around her public housing unit to sell fruits and vegetables, eggs and meat from a nearby farm.  However, she never knows when he is coming and the source is unreliable.  She also said that even though she has access to a car it is difficult to get to a grocery store in her condition and that stores need to move into the neighborhood where she lives.  Her responses indicated that she was thankful for the Veggie Project market during the summer, but she was somewhat unsure of what she would do to maintain her diet once the Veggie Project concludes.

This makes us think about what we can do beyond the Veggie Project to help the food access issue in food desert neighborhoods.  If there are limited nearby groceries, can we bring mobile grocery stores to food desert areas year-round?  Or if we can’t bring the stores to them, can we bring them to the grocery stores with a shuttle system?  What are some of your ideas?

Week 2 went great!!  We are seeing a lot of progress compared to past years - check out this week’s updates

Produce Sold:
Beets, Blackberries, Cabbage, Collards, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green Beans, Jalapeno Peppers, Lettuce, Green Onions, White Onions, Peaches, Potatoes, Squash, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Turnip Greens, Banana Peppers, Carrots, Cabbage Sprouts

613 Pounds of Produce SOLD!

160 Customers
54 Super  Shopper members
59 Regular adult customers
26 Youth Leader Board members
21 Regular youth customers

Anyone who knows me for more than two seconds knows that I am a food enthusiast.  I live eat and breathe anything food.  Cooking, baking, eating, dinner parties you name it, I love it.  I suppose I am very fortunate to have been raised in an environment in which food was not a limited resource but rather something to be savored.  Food insecurity and the idea of going hungry had never really donned on me as something that truly occurred here in the United States.  In fact, I had never even heard of “food deserts” before attending Vanderbilt. I wonder if I am the exception rather than the rule? Does our upbringing really morph the way we perceive the basic staples that sustain our life?

Recently, I heard a country song “I’m still a guy” by Brad Paisley, which parodies the difference between how women and men perceive the same object.  For the sake of our blog I thought it would be interesting to replicate this experiment using our Youth Leader Board members from Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club and the Vanderbilt Veggie Interns.  Here are the results I compiled based on a word recognition exercise.  Feel free to also post your answers to these trigger words using the first thing that comes to mind when you read it.

McDonalds

Interns: Grease, fat, ice cream, calories

YLB: Chicken, burgers, fries

Spinach

Interns: Yummy, vitamins, greens

YLB: Fried, plant, green

Soda

Interns: Sugar, carbonated

YLB: Drink, orange, grape, frizzy,

Whole grains

Interns: Fiber, oats, bread

YLB: High calories, un-crustables, bread

Potatoes

Interns: Sweet, baked, smashed

YLB: Chips, fries, Potato salad, potato pie, mashed

Fried

Interns: Gross, bad, caloric

YLB: Chicken, greens, bread, cheese fries, doughnuts, chili fries, BK apple fries

Eggplant

Interns: Purple, grilled, sautéed

YLB: Ick, low-cal, low-fat, nasty, gross

Bread and Company

Interns: Expensive, salads

YLB: Bread and who?, What

What do you think of when you hear these trigger words?  What do you think this says about individual’s experiences with food and health?

The Youth Leader Board members participated in “Food in Our Neighborhood” this week and learned about the “food desert” issue first hand, observing and discussing the types of food stores in their communities.  The following are comments that the kids made after learning about “food deserts”:

Squash Seed: “The Veggie Project is important because it eliminates mental, physical, and financial food deserts.  The Veggie Project also empowers youth in our community to learn business skills and practice them by selling fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables in the community for the community.”

Captain Corn: “The Veggie Project is important because it helps people get low priced veggies.”

Squash Squisher: “Because of the Veggie Project people don’t have to go far for Veggies because it’s in our neighborhood.”

Bananas: “Because of the Veggie Project, Tennessee can be the healthiest state that ever lived.”

Kiwi: “The Veggie Project can help you learn about fruits & veggies and tell you how to eat correct.”

Cherries: “I think that the Veggie Project is important because it help the youth communicate with the neighborhood and let us sell vegetables.  It’s important because it’s making Nashville healthy and positive.  I also thinks it’s important because it sell veggies.”

Lemon: “It is important because it will help me get more healthy.”

Ginger: “I think the Veggie Project is important because Nashville needs to be healthy.”

In addition to talking about the “food deserts” issue, the Andrew Jackson YLB took a bus tour to explore firsthand the differences in the food stores available in the Andrew Jackson neighborhood and other Nashville areas.  The bus tour route went down Charlotte Pike, turned left onto White Bridge Road, and returned on West End Avenue.  The kids included in their observation notes that there were more fast food and convenient stores in the Andrew Jackson community and that the area outside of the Andrew Jackson community had many more grocery stores and sit down restaurants.  One YLB member, Cucumber, said that in the Andrew Jackson neighborhood she would eat at McDonalds, but in the West End area she would eat at O’Charley’s, comparing the types of restaurants available in the both areas.  At the end of the field trip the kids sat down together and discussed what they learned, all agreeing that it was important to have the Veggie Project markets at the Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club because there were not nearby places to purchase fresh produce but the markets were changing that!

The Veggie Project kicked off last Thursday and Friday with its first markets of the summer.  The produce sold included peaches, squash, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, zucchini, onions, hot peppers, cucumbers, collard greens and turnip greens.  All four markets sold out or nearly sold out by the end of the evening, and a total of 469.66 pounds of produce was sold to 182 customers!

The kids on the Youth Leader Board ran the Veggie Project markets.  Before the markets began, Sarah Bellos with Nashville Urban Harvest attended the Preston Taylor and Andrew Jackson markets and spoke with the kids about where the fruits and vegetables came from, what types of fruits and vegetables grow in Tennessee, what produce is in season, and how to carefully handle and display fruits and vegetables.

We are off to a great start this summer and we expect more great things are to come.  I encourage you to come check us out and continue to visit our blog this summer! 

- Caroline Pierce, Veggie Project intern

The neighborhoods that the Veggie Project serves are considered “food deserts.”  Food deserts are geographic areas with limited access to foods required for a healthy diet.  People living in food deserts either cannot easily get to the grocery store, do not have knowledge about healthy foods and how to prepare them, or do not have the financial means to buy groceries and maintain a healthy diet.  The Veggie Project works to address each of these barriers to healthy lifestyles!

First, the Veggie Project runs one produce market per host site each week throughout the summer.  By bringing in local fruits and vegetables, the Veggie Project aims to change the environmental factors that typically serve as barriers to accessing fresh, healthy produce in our food dessert neighborhoods.

Second, the Veggie Project offers Veggie Bucks to youth and adults which are vouchers for free produce from the markets through the Super Shoppers and Youth Leader Board programs. The Super Shoppers program allows members to earn Veggie Bucks for certain activities that promote learning more about preparing and consuming fresh, healthy, locally-grown fruits and vegetables that are often sold at the Veggie Project markets.  Activities include questionnaires, healthy recipe submissions, and attending Veggie Project events.  The Youth Leader Board is made up of a group of kids who are dedicated to making a difference in their community.  Each site has its own YLB and the YLB kids run the Veggie Project markets at their sites, actively participating in the Veggie Project mission to bring more fruits and vegetables into their communities.  In running the markets the kids also learn marketing skills and how to run a business, earning Veggie Bucks in the process.  Additionally, the kids participate in fieldtrips that teach them how fruits and vegetables go from the farm to their plates. 

Third, educating the youth of these communities and empowering them to make changes in their community is another way that the Veggie Project is fighting the “food desert” issue.  The Veggie Project works to educate in three different ways – nutrition education for all youth of our host sites, food system and market management training for our Youth Leader Board members and increasing knowledge on healthy food preparation for Super Chef, Super Shopper members. 

The Veggie Project is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and would love your support!  You can visit one of our markets:

Preston Taylor Boys and Girls Club

915 38^th Avenue North, 37209

 Thursdays 3:30-5:30 PM

Harvest Hands

432 Wingrove Avenue, 37203

Thursdays 3:30-5:30 PM

Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club

916 16^th Avenue North, 37208

Fridays 3:00-5:00 PM

Thompson Lane Boys and Girls Club

915 38^th Avenue North, 38204

Fridays 3:00-5:00 PM

See what the kids are talking about…

Hi my code name is blackberry. I live with my mom, dad and my sister. I go to Middle School. I have a kinda big house. I really like the vegie market because I learn about all kinds of vegies. The vegie market is all about vegtiables and stuff. There is one thing that I know what you can eat for a snack. It is called ants on a log. It has celery, peanut butter, and raisins. It is very good.

I am Watermelon Boy. My favorite fruit is watermelon. I’m from Nashville, Tennessee. Basketball is my favorite sport. My family is big. They live around the U.S. When I get older I want to go to the NBA. I love the Veggie Mart. My favorite job is the receipt job. The fruit and vegetables are good. I look forward to helping the Veggie Market every week. I would want to do the receipt job forever.

Hey my name is Strawberries. The things I learned from Veggie Market is that you need to eat more fruits and veggies more than snacky food. You need say very healthy and say in shape. I was born and raise in Nashville but I always wanted to go to other places and stuff but same its borning.

Wat up, my name is Cherry. I am 12 years old. I am going to the seventh grade. I also go to Middle School. The reason why I like veggie market is because we get to help people, do fun things, and go on trips.

My name is Cherryman. My favorite sports are basketball, football, and soccer. My favorite food is pizza. I am 10 years old. I was born in Boston, Massachutess of the year 1997. My favorite rap artist is Jay-Z. My name is Cherryman becuase I love cherries SO much! I love the Veggie Market and I especially love being the reciept person. The fruit and vegetables have a unique taste. I know I want to do that job again very much.

Hi! I’m Cheesey Tomato and I really love bananas, cheese, and of course tomatos! My favorite colors are red + black + purple. I love to play football, soccer, and video games. I really like the games guitar hero I, II, and III. My favorite animal is definetly a polar bear. I think the market is awesome! It’s so fun and it helps trainus in buisness and people skills wich you really need besides most of the fruits and veggies are so good I buy some myself. I think this is a great program.

Hellow, my name is Baby Goblen and the reason I joined the veggie market is to get healthyer and in shape. I like to eat fruit like peaches, apples, grapes, oranges, kiwis, plums, and grapefruit.

Some other pictures from our most recent markets…

We really enjoyed our first week of the Veggie Markets!  Here are some of our highlights…

219 Super Shoppers Enrolled!
What is a super shopper?  The Super Shopper program is a program available to the parents and gaurdians of the Boys and Girls Club members as well as community members.  As part of this program, participants agree to be part of the research regarding food access and health behaviors and are compensated with up to $20 in Veggie Market vouchers and entered into a drawing for Kroger gift cards!  Increasing community access to fresh produce is very important to this project and we have definately exceeded our expecations of interested Super Shopper participants!

70 Youth Leader Board Members Enrolled!
What is the Youth Leader Board?  Another exciting area of this project is the development of a  Youth Leader Board at each of the Boys and Girls clubs!  Youth ages 10+ who have signed up to be part of this program help us run every aspect of the Veggie Markets - from advertising and promotion to produce selection and pricing, the youth are able to be very engaged in the “business” of running their own markets.  Additionally, these youth participate in focused group discussions, fieldtrips and activities related to food access and community health and well-being.  These participants are also recieve up to $20 in Veggie Market voucher compensation and are entered into a drawing for gift cards to local movie theatres.

128 Customers Served and Over 570 POUNDS of Produce Sold! 

This summer, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt will be teaming up with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee to bring back the VEGGIE PROJECT!  The Veggie Project is a result of the research by a Vanderbilt doctoral student, Darcy Freedman, which aims to address issues of childhood obesity, family nutrition and food security issues in underserved communities.  One of the most important components of this project is that we have teamed up with Nashville Urban Harvest and the Food Securities Partners to put “Veggie Markets” at each of the Clubs!  Each of these markets will be comprised of locally or regionally grown produce to support local farming.  Also, the youth of the Clubs will help run the market by helping to pick produce and prices as well as help with marketing and advertising.

This summer we are expanding the project by adding a lot of exciting programs!  One of these programs is the  YOUTH LEADER BOARD.  Each of the four Boys and Girls Clubs in Nashville that are part of this project will have a Youth Leader Board comprised of youth ages 10+ who are interested in expanding their knowledge and understanding of food access in neighborhoods and community health.  In addition to helping with all aspects of running the “Veggie Markets,” they will also keep weekly journals, take pictures and post their updates and findings on this blog. 

So what is the purpose of this blog? 

1. To provide the youth at the Boys and Girls Clubs the opportunity to share what they are learning, to celebrate their accomplishments and to share their voice and opinions with their community!
2. To spark a discussion of food justice (or injustice) in our communities and how it relates to individual, family, community or national health and well-being.

YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE BY SHOPPING AT OUR MARKETS AS WELL!  Click here for more information… Veggie Project Information Flier