CalFresh Healthy Living

Garden Education at General Pershing

CFHL's Elaine Silver helps prepare the raised planter boxes

Partnering with General Pershing Preschool in Daly City, the CalFresh Healthy Living Program in San Mateo County offered hands-on gardening lessons and support for General Pershing’s on-site garden this October.

CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE (CFHL) worked to create an edible garden, with additional support from the organization Rebuilding Together Peninsula, who supplied 10 planter boxes and the dirt to fill them. Elaine Silver, Nutrition Educator with CFHL, assisted in filling up the planter boxes with the needed dirt and Mary Vollinger, also with CFHL, delivered the first batch of seedlings for the garden for the project.

New planter boxes built by Rebuilding Together Peninsula

Marisela Ceron, another CFHL Nutrition Educator, then began working directly with preschool children at the site, planting the seedlings. 120 children in five classes participated in the planting of kale, cilantro, cauliflower and lettuce starts. Each classroom is responsible for their own garden bed, and the children are working with their teachers to care for the plants.

Marisela is planning to use the It’s Fun to Be Healthy curriculum from CATCH ECE to teach garden-based nutrition education lessons and the children are looking forward to harvesting their crops in the spring!