The Greenwood Public School District is partnering with a national non-profit organization aimed at addressing childhood obesity.
Threadgill Elementary School and Greenwood Middle School, will participate in FoodCorps this year.
That organization places service members in limited-resource communities for a year, working with teachers and students, to establish farm to school programs as well as incorporating nutrition education into the school curricula, planting school gardens and engaging in other initiatives to improve school food.
Anne Marie Kornelis, recycling coordinator at Greenwood-Leflore Recycling, will supervise FoodCorps member James Tolleson, who will arrive in Greenwood on Sept. 10 to head up the program.
Kornelis said Tolleson hopes to begin implementing his curriculum in October. “It will take a little bit of work and little bit of coordinating with the schools, but, it’s a really great program,” she said.
Kornelis said the ideal situation would be for Tolleson to work at either the elementary school or the middle school. However, since both schools want to participate in the program, she said, Tolleson may have to split his time between the two schools.
The FoodCorps program is being funded with city, school district and federal funds.
Dr. Montrell Greene, superintendent of the district, said he is excited about the opportunity for children to be involved in a hands-on program. He said he hopes students will be able to plant a garden early in the school year.
“The program has a lot of merit and the educational part of the program is crucial. I do believe, also, that the project-oriented part is also important. I really would like to see the garden at the front end of this program. I think it says something,” Greene said.
Kornelis said school-age children are very receptive to learning about fruits and vegetables. “We have had a Recycling Center here for two years that has won a couple of awards. We have a garden at the Recycling Center and kids who come and take lessons,” she said.
Kornelis said the FoodCorps’ curriculum can be easily incorporated into a school’s science class. She also said she would like to see students get involved in the after-school garden class.
“We don’t want to take away from the school’s core time of teaching,” she said.
Kornelis said FoodCorps’ vision is to have a nation of well-nourished children. “FoodCorps wants children to know what healthy food is, how it grows, where it comes from, and who has access to it every day.”
