Agriculture & Nutrition Education
Make Agriculture and Nutrition Education of our 0-5 year olds a part of helping them reach all their developmental milestones!
Food Preparation
Farm to Keiki
Farm to Keiki is a food culture where we nourish our children with the freshest foods from gardens and local farms. A culture where children learn to love healthy foods because it is part of their daily education at home and in school. The Farm to Keiki book is a toolkit developed to bring gardening, nutrition and cooking at the forefront of a child’s learning. Access the toolkit here!
The Fresh Choice Hawaiian Harvest Toolkit, developed by Kokua Hawai'i Foundation, can be used as an educational resource for all types of school snack programs to introduce students to local produce items grown by Hawai‘i’s farmers.
Kai and Hoku Series
Join the Keiki Heroes in fun and nutritious quests to learn and explore foods of Hawai'i. These books contain hours of fun activities, yummy recipes and brain tickling fun facts for you and your 'ohana to complete together. You can also download the Sticker Sheet* below to track the local foods you try in these books. Interested in purchasing a hardcopy of a book and sticker sheet? No problem! Visit: Kai and Hoku or download a copy here.
Garden to Grindz
This recipe guidebook features 45 CACFP recipes inspired by Hawaiʻi’s rich melting pot of diverse cuisines and highlighting affordable and accessible local ingredients.
The team at Mālama Kaua’i with support from Hawai’i Child Care Nutrition Program, CTAHR Internship program at UH-Mānoa, Johnson ‘Ohana Foundation, Nemours Children’s Health, State of Hawai’i Department of Health and USDA Farm to School Grant program have developed this valuable resource for Hawai’i ECEs and FCCs so that our young keiki can enjoy more healthy, local food!
Looking for some Garden to Grindz inspiration? Check out MK’s CSA Cooking Show on their YouTube channel!”
Curriculum Enhancements
ʻUlu Education Toolkit
The ʻUlu Education Toolkit is meant to support educators in incorporating lessons about ʻulu into the classroom, school garden, and formal or informal learning environments. The Toolkit is designed as an interactive online database where educators and families can search and organize materials as needed by grade, subject matter, resource type, and/or academic standard. Access the toolkit here!
Discover my Plate : Nutrition Education for Kindergarten
Discover MyPlate is fun and inquiry-based nutrition education that fosters the development of healthy food choices and physically active lifestyles during a critical developmental and learning period for children—kindergarten.
Kindergarten teachers can meet education standards for math, science, English language arts, and health using the six ready-to-go and interactive lessons. Children become food-smart as they practice counting, reading, writing, and more. Access the tool here!
Roots in the Ground
Roots in the Ground is a comprehensive Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) curriculum created by Rooted staff, partners, and consultants to guide in-person, garden-based education and cooking trainings for ECE professionals. The curriculum is designed to help early childhood educators feel inspired and confident in gardening and cooking activities with young children. Access the tool here!
Field Trips
Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation
The Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation (KHF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaiʻi. KHF support hands-on learning activities that engage their senses and make lasting impressions on children’s minds.
Find a list of field trip destinations, field trip grant application, and more resources here!
Ho'oulu 'Āina
Ho'oulu ʻĀina is a welcoming place of refuge where people of all cultures sustain and propagate the connections between the health of the land and the health of the people.
Since 2004, Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services (KKV) has been stewarding and sustainably developing 100 acres in the back of Kalihi Valley. Dedicated to cultural education and community transformation, this land was named Ho‘oulu ‘Āina, meaning “to grow the land” and “to grow because of the land,” based on the value that the health of the land and the health of the people are one.
If you are O'ahu-based, consider a fieldtrip here for your class and/or colleagues!
“All children should have the basic nutrition they need to learn and grow and to pursue their dreams, because, in the end, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children.”
Michelle Obama