Healthy eating starts in childhood and yet children in Baton Rouge often do not have access to the nutritious foods that leads towards a healthy weight.
Baton Roots, through the partnership with HealthyBR, will receive $15,000 to use towards the farm expansion to help relieve childhood obesity in Baton Rouge.
When observing the data, it becomes apparent that access and education about healthy foods is a crucial start to helping stem the current rate of 32.1% of Louisiana children being labeled overweight or obese. Baton Roots works with partners from American Heart Association, Top Box Foods Louisiana, and Grow Baton Rouge to help distribute healthy foods to community pick up locations and schools sites.
To help families understand the ease of healthy cooking, Baton Roots shares cooking demonstrations through partner organizations like the American Heart Association. Families are shown how to use the ingredients found on the farm and home staples to create healthy and satisfying meals. This is critical to creating a long-lasting impact on health as studies have shown that children who cook with their parents are more likely to remain on a healthy trajectory.
In addition to the initiatives of access and education, Baton Roots also trains high school aged students on how to grow food in Hustle & Grow. Trainees are engaged in the best practices of urban farming, putting the ability to grow food right into their backyards. Trainees are also utilized to help share their skills to other youth groups for peer-led education.
