Garden-Raised Bounty (GRuB), is a partnership with local schools and agencies to serve youth aged 13 to 19 who:

• come from low-income families, foster care, and/or group homes,
• have learning and behavior challenges including ADD, ADHD, drug abuse, and others,
• simply learn more effectively in a hands-on learning environment, and/or
• have other obstacles to reaching their potential.

Fifteen new youth entered this year to work on a 3-acre organic farm, along with four peers returning from the previous year. They build raised bed gardens and in turn provide fresh foods for their families. They participate in agriculture workshops, where healthy eating is promoted along with sustainable agriculture methods and nutrition education. Through their Cultivating Youth Programs, GRuB focuses on building youths' nutrition, self esteem, community connections, and academic enthusiasm.

Target Audience: Low-income youth in Thurston and Mason Counties  

Evaluation: Over the past 3 years, 40% of youth entering the program were on-track to graduate; 80% of those youth have graduated or have earned their GED and 60% are in college. Also, 80% of youth improve their overall self-esteem as measured by the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale.

Partners: Area Agency on Aging, City of Lacey, City of Olympia, Community Youth Services, community foundations

Lead Agency: Garden-Raised Bounty is a grassroots, non-profit organization located in Thurston and Mason Counties and dedicated to nourishing a strong community by empowering people to grow good food.

For More Information:
Jackson Sillars, Youth Employment Program Director
Tel. 360-753-2665
http://www.goodgrub.org/

Proposed Changes to WIC Foods

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is one of the largest nutrition programs in the United States. In Washington State, 165,000 women, infants and children at nutritional risk were provided with WIC food vouchers in 2005. WIC foods include milk, juice, eggs, cheese , cereal, peanut butter and infant cereal, and the content of the WIC package has gone largely unchanged since its inception in 1972-74. In the meantime, the number and ethnic diversity of participants has changed, the obesity crisis looms, and the availability of other foods has grown.

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are being proposed as additions to the WIC food package. The revisions largely reflect recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in its Report WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change. There are positive reasons for this change: it aligns with current feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, it promotes and supports longer-term breastfeeding, and it aligns with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Target Audience: Women, infants and children of low-income families

Partners: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food and Nutrition Service, American Academy of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies

For More Information:
Cathy Franklin, Washington State WIC Coordinator
Tel: 360-236-3648