Local farmers are educating valley students about the powers of eating healthy and locally.
Local farmers and the Palm Springs Unified School District are working together to educate students about locally-grown produce through a grant program.
Teresa Mattura is a farmer from Redlands who puts on presentations to educate students about local produce that is raised right here in California.
"I work to sell my fruits and vegetables to local school districts," Teresa Mattura. "And so then teaching the kids that, hey, their farmer is right next door to them super close."
Old Grove Orange Farm is about an hour away. Mattura brought fruits and vegetables with her for the children to taste.
"They tend to be really shocked and surprised," says Mattura. "And then I always get that, like, your oranges are so good, you know. So that always makes me feel good."
The farmer's market has been made possible through a farm to school grant received from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The program is a way to support projects that cultivate equity, nurture students, build climate resilience, and more."Our goal is to bring a farmers market from one of our local farmers out to all of our schools," says Jezebelle Nielson, the Wellness Coordinator at the Palm Springs Unified School District. "This includes elementary to secondary level."
As the wellness coordinator for the Palm Springs Unified School District, Nielson says "teaching students about local farmers helps sustain our local farmers, but it's also better for the environment." "A lot of times we have students going to the grocery store, and they see an item that like would be maybe from Ecuador, which is nice, and there's nothing wrong with that, says Nielson. "But it's also important for them to know that produce is grown, like right down the street, and can be grown here in California."
