Whole Kids Foundation grows healthy students and schools with grant program

The edible educational garden at Shady Side Academy Middle School in Fox Chapel was two years old in 2014 when computer science teacher and farm coordinator Tim McGuigan secured a $2,000 School Garden Grant from Whole Kids Foundation.

The money paid for rain barrels, downspouts and a water collection system to sustain the 16 raised beds covering about 50 square feet. “It is ambitious,” said McGuigan, who helps students harvest spring crops of peas, kale, chard and cabbage for salad parties and green smoothies, and late summer crops for the farmer’s market on Wednesdays at the senior school.

“The kids I have are pretty passionate about getting out there, getting their hands dirty and growing things,” he said. The money from Whole Kids Foundation, one of three Whole Foods Market charitable foundations, “has served us extremely well. We haven’t had to draw water from the city or the building’s water. We even had the kids paint the rain barrels – it’s really helped to beautify the garden.”

Food programs at schools are worth the investment, said McGuigan, a lifelong gardener. They “teach kids in an experiential way to understand that your food grows from the ground” and give them “a way to see how what they eat impacts the environment, impacts themselves. I think it’s a powerful thing.”

More choices for kids

Whole Foods shares nutritional education on its website, and Whole Kids Foundation offers families free resources such as easy recipes and the Awesome Eats app to guide conversations at home. “Giving kids more choices about what they’re putting in their bodies and teaching them early is really important,” said Roya Kousari, the company’s metro marketing team leader for Pittsburgh.

Since its start in 2011, Whole Kids Foundation has awarded $5 million for more than 3,600 school gardens, and $11 million to install more than 4,600 school salad bars across the United States. It estimates more than 4 million kids have been served by programs it funded. About 8,800 schools are currently involved in at least one program, and 11,000 teachers participate in the Healthy Teachers Program.

“There’s nothing more important to the health of our future than the health of our kids,” Nona Evans, executive director of Whole Kids Foundation, writes on her blog. “When kids learn to make great food choices, they will carry that skill through life – resulting in better overall health and wellness.”

The natural and organic foods chain also has Whole Planet and Whole Cities foundations. The company makes donations for community events, and raises money for local nonprofits at its stores through “5% Days” and “Nickels for Nonprofits.”

Shop local to support Kidsburgh

Each quarter, Kousari helps choose a partner for 5% Day – the organization receives 5 percent of net sales at local Whole Foods stores. Kidsburgh will benefit Sept. 14 at the Wexford store and Sept. 22 in Shadyside.

Nickels for Nonprofits chooses a three-month partner to whom people can donate the 5-cent refund for bringing a reusable shopping bag. The nonprofit currently is Clear Thoughts Foundation in Wexford and, after Sept. 25, it will be Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team.

Kidsburgh’s participation is well-timed with the back-to-school emphasis, said Kousari. “We’re looking at it as a school-year partnership,” she said. “This could be a really great way to help build what they’re doing with healthy eating and help us get the word out that shopping can be less of a task for the family and more fun for the kids.”

Many organizations raise $10,000 or more on a 5% Day. Reading is FUNdamental Pittsburgh raised $11,400 in June to support its Storymobile Book Babies program, which provides parents in seven public housing communities with information to support their children’s literacy development. It will pay for books, supplies, events and other resources “to help with raising children who love to read,” said Kaitlyn Duling, Storymobile manager.

“There’s a unique window when babies’ brains are developing that it’s important to read to them and talk to them. We want to help parents do that,” Duling said. “The team at Whole Foods made our partnership go smoothly.”

RIF Pittsburgh spread awareness on social media platforms, gave Whole Foods cashiers t-shirts to wear, and staffed tables inside the stores. “All in all, it was a very positive experience and we are thankful for the donation,” said Duling.

Last November, Environmental Charter School in Pittsburgh raised $12,000 with a 5% Day for its middle school Maker+Math project using Food Justice as a theme. Environmental Charter also received a $2,000 School Garden Grant in 2015 to buy hoses for the lower school garden irrigation system, Edible Schoolyard Learning Kits, and to expand the Edible Schoolyard program to the upper school.

“We appreciated the outpouring of support for our work at ECS. The generosity of patrons at Whole Food and the Whole Kids Foundation meant so much to our students and our school,” said Chief Development Officer Lisa J. Perry.

Grants gone green

K-12 schools are eligible for the School Garden Grant. Several Pittsburgh Public Schools have been recipients – Faison K-5, Linden K-5, Langley K-8, Pioneer Education Center, and Lincoln PreK-5 STEAM Academy – as have Young Scholars of Western PA Charter School, Holy Family Academy in Emsworth and Kerr Elementary in Fox Chapel.

Manchester Academic Charter School received a Salad Bar Grant in 2012 – $2,625 to set up a freestanding, mobile salad bar with chill pads, pans and tongs. The equipment can last 10 years.

Whole Kids Foundation also offers Extended Learning Garden Grants, for gardens that aren’t located at schools; Honey Bee Grants of equipment to start a hive or money to support educational programs; and Healthy Kids Innovation Grants of $15,000 to $25,000 for next-generation ideas in children’s health.

“The biggest thing is modeling,” Kousari said. “When kids are given the choice, a lot of times they will eat healthy. And telling kids to make those choices for themselves is really important, so it’s also important for them to have the information they need to make those choices.

“I think Kidsburgh is going to be a fantastic partner in this.”