EFNEP Partners with San Andreas High School for Farm to School Fridays

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has partnered with San Andreas High School for over a decade. The partnership began with EFNEP bringing workshops on preparing and eating healthy food to the Cal SAFE program for pregnant teens. The Cal SAFE program phased out of San Andreas but Clara Wilshire, nutrition educator, continued to provide nutrition education through Youth EFNEP using the Hunger Attack curriculum. The school has since started to offer more programs and career pathways in business, technology, health and science. They now have a large greenhouse and hydroponic garden for students to grow and sell their produce. They expanded the partnership with EFNEP to include the UCCE San Bernardino Master Gardener Program.

The high school has been presenting information virtually during Farm to School Fridays to teach students where food comes from. EFNEP educator Clara Wilshire provided a lesson on MyPlate and prepared vegetable quesadillas using ingredients from the school's garden. Clara walked out to the garden and showed students how to select the best produce and properly clip cilantro from the bunch. She also reviewed proper food safety tips when preparing food such as washing hands and produce before beginning. The presentation was live streamed to 87 kindergarten through 12th grade classes in the San Bernardino City Unified School District reaching over 1700 students.

During the presentation, 95% of students stated they were familiar with MyPlate and 88% stated they had tried quesadillas previously during a live poll. Students were invited to write questions and answers in the chat and five students were brought in via webcam to ask the educator questions live. Two students from Bob Holcomb Elementary School asked “ If I drink juice do I still get the vitamins?” and “Is it okay to eat vegetables from fast food places?”. Clara was able to answer their questions and provide additional feedback. The session wrapped up with a review of what was learned about MyPlate, a raffle and a tasting by Ms. Figueroa of the delicious veggie quesadillas. Teachers were provided materials for the lesson, parent handouts and the recipe so students could make the snack at home.

Watch the event videos below.

Español

Estudiantes de San Bernardino cultivan alimentos y nuevas oportunidades - YouTube

English

In San Bernardino, a unique partnership helps students cultivate food and new opportunities. - YouTube

food demo