By Yaza Sarieh
Some educators may think that getting small children to try fruits and vegetables can be a daunting task, but not for Arbendette Van. The director of Pre-K Preparatory Academy in Gainesville, GA, Arbendette Van has excited her students, faculty members, and families about local foods and nutrition education. Having joined the Farm to Early Care Education Collaborative over a year ago, Arbendette has done amazing work to incorporate Farm to Early Care Education in everything they do in the classroom.
After a career in the corporate world, Arbendette Van followed her lifelong passion for working with low-income communities and educating children by establishing the Pre-K Preparatory Academy. The Farm to Early Care Education program at Pre-K Prep began due to Arbendette’s interest in local food and the health benefits of eating goods grown in the local community. She was inspired to challenge each classroom to integrate healthy foods and nutrition into their curricula, which began with a garden competition using bathtubs as planters and some seeds to see which produce grew the fastest. What started as a small contest quickly developed into a school-wide incentive to create more opportunities for the students to engage in F2ECE.
The Farm to Early Care Education initiatives has benefitted the community, as Pre-K Preparatory Academy has built a large garden, created activities and curricula with the help of Georgia Organics, and set a standard for eating local. According to Arbendette, one of the most rewarding products of the Farm to Early Care Education work has been the student’s joy for healthy eating. She said, “One of our moms took her kids to Florida for a vacation, and someone commented on how amazing it was that her children were not eating candy or junk food, but that they were happy to eat vegetables and fruits.”
The Farm to Early Care Education program has encouraged student’s excitement because they are included in all elements of growing, harvesting, and serving. The children not only plant the seeds and “love to poke holes in the ground,” but they are also responsible for watering the garden and tending to its needs. She has done a fantastic job of including sustainable practices in her own garden, by using recycled planters like tires and milk cartons, and utilizing compost so as not to waste any scraps from the kitchen. While learning more about the ecological systems in the garden, one classroom even did a research study on the different types of worms that would support prime growing conditions and had the children find those worms around the playground and relocate them to the garden. After harvesting the plants, students have prepared meals to be taken home to share with the parents. Arbendette has noticed that “The students are so interested in the growing process and working in the garden that it encourages them to try the produce – they are so eager that some of them want to try immediately after they help harvest!”
Despite challenges that have arisen from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Arbendette has not stopped her F2ECE activities – in fact, she has taken this time as an opportunity to grow the program. With the help of parents and staff, Pre-K Prep has just constructed a greenhouse and Arbendette hopes to continue increasing the garden in the next year.
One of Arbendette’s goals is to expand the Academy’s procurement of local food, specifically working with POC farmers who use sustainable growing practices. The most challenging part of procuring local foods has to do with logistics. Many Georgia farms do not have the capacity to deliver long distances at this time. The Gainesville farmers market is during school hours on a Friday, which excludes the market at a procurement option. Because the school has a smaller number of students, it is difficult to find farms with order minimums that fit her needs. However, Arbendette has not given up and still does all she can to eat local – whether it is going to Kroger multiple times a week, or continuing to connect with distributors – she is steadfast in her priority of providing healthy foods to her students and community.
With the dedication of school faculty and the support of Georgia Organics resources, Pre-K Preparatory Academy has become a model of best practices in Farm to Early Care Education.
To connect with Pre-K Preparatory Academy, visit http://www.preparatorylearningacademy.com/ and follow them on social media at www.facebook.com/prekpreparatory/ and www.instagram.com/prekprepacademy/.
Yaza Sarieh is a contractor for Farm to School at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.