THE SNAC PROGRAM
The SNAC Program experientially teaches families about healthy foods and nutrition through the school garden where children learn first hand about growing and eating great wholesome foods.
The SNAC Program provides innovative nutrition lesson through hands-on experience. Garden based lesson plans are provided by our program director and volunteers. The SNAC curriculum is designed so that garden activities coordinate with the core competencies being covered in the classroom. The SNAC Garden is designed to engage children, parents and community members in lessons on nutrition through the experience of participating in the process of growing, preparing, and cooking wholesome food. Studies have shown that students exposed to fruits and vegetables through a school garden are much more likely to incorporate them into their eating habits later in life.
SNAC (School Nutrition Agri-Culture) aspires to serve as a regional support network for school communities open to transforming their schoolyards into vibrant outdoor classrooms and thriving ecosystems where children and families can get a first-hand experience in growing wholesome food.
In the first months of the garden’s life, September through December, children have benefited from the harvest of several crops, done various experiments and explored math concepts within the garden.
The 19 raised beds and the greenhouse bins that were planted in late August, have provided a bountiful fall harvest for all the grades. The planting of cold weather crops in the greenhouse and the use of frost covers has enabled students to harvest the greens for salads in December! At most lesson days, students have hand harvested and created their own class’s salads made up of kale, lettuce, arugula, red and green chard, radicchio, and spinach.
Read more about their activities and explore the photos!
Volunteers are welcome!
Do you want to be a part of teaching kids about healthy, wholesome food? We would love your help during our scheduled Garden Days at Southern Delaware School of the Arts (SDSA) in Selbyville Delaware. Please feel free to contact us at kfurtado@edendelmarva.org to learn more!
- Summer 2011: >>> DOWNLOAD THIS UPDATE AS A PDF DOCUMENT <<<
- Spring 2011: >>> DOWNLOAD THIS UPDATE AS A PDF DOCUMENT <<<
The SNAC Program seeks to improve children’s health through hands on nutrition education and the experience of fresh whole foods from their school garden. The SNAC program benefits children by improving their relationship to local and fresh foods, enhancing community wide involvement in feeding our children, while also engaging multiple math, science, social studies, and other skills learned through experience in the garden. The EDEN Project, installed the first SNAC Garden and Greenhouse at the Southern Delaware School of the Arts (SDSA), a public K-8 school in Sussex County Delaware in the summer of 2011. Grades 1-8 are now utilizing the outdoor classroom at the SNAC Garden and Greenhouse frequently throughout the school year.
Chief components of SNAC include lessons on environmental stewardship, science, math, and language arts, which correspond with each grade’s core curriculum activities within the classroom. The students, many of whom helped with the garden installation and everyday maintenance of the gardens, learn about the preparation of wholesome salads and snacks, during some SNAC Garden Days lessons.
The SNAC Garden serves as an outdoor classroom and source of wholesome food. The SNAC Garden includes two outdoor classroom areas, a greenhouse, several raised beds, and spaces with a “habitat-based approach, including a woodland area, composting bins, and rain barrels. During the school year, the SNAC Program Director, Dr. Kim Furtado along with students and volunteers, including parents, assure that the garden continues to flourish.
- To integrate science, math, social studies, language arts and other current state standards into an experiential outdoor classroom, The SNAC Garden.
- To enhance children’s relationship to wholesome food through hands on learning process.
- To improve children’s health through an improved understanding of wholesome, fresh food.
School Garden
A School Garden is a place where students...
- Are inspired to ask questions and seek answers through their own research and observations.
- Observe the workings of a diverse ecosystem first-hand
- Recognize their ability to create a place of beauty and ecological significance.
- Discover the connections between themselves, their peers, and the natural world.
- Contribute to the production of healthy food, from seed to table.
- Apply concepts learned in multiple academic areas.
History of SNAC
The SNAC Program started in 2006 through efforts of Wellnet volunteers, including Dr. Kim Furtado. The SNAC Program has offered educational outreach at The Southern Delaware School of the Arts (SDSA), The Jefferson School, and the Milford Boys & Girls Club over these years.
SNAC was funded through December 2011 through a grant from Chichester Dupont Foundation which allowed us to install our first greenhouse and garden at our host school, SDSA. We also received multiple hours of volunteer time from parents, teachers and community members. Other in kind support has been donated by Walmart, Eric Wahl at Element Design, Kevin Lynch at Selbyville Pet and Garden, Jason Leach, contractor who oversaw installation of the greenhouse, and Robert Tunnell at Blue Hen Organics.
We are seeking funding to expand the program in 2012 through multiple grant applications. At this time for 2012, The SNAC Program has been supported by the Cigna Foundation.
We are currently providing the SNAC Program at Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville (SDSA) through coordinated support with the teachers, administrators, and parent volunteers.
Our Program Director is Dr. Kim Furtado, naturopathic physician, who is a 2000 Bastyr University graduate. Dr. Furtado has extensive clinical nutrition and stress management experience and brings that expertise and passion into our schools.
