| Last week, thousands of San Francisco Unified students went back to school, with all of the excitement and anticipation that comes with starting a new semester. But this year SFUSD schools and teachers are facing greater challenges than before, including budget cuts, staffing shortages, and declining enrollment.
With your support, Foodwise has been here as a constant for SFUSD students and teachers, offering free health and wellness education at the farmers market, in the classroom, and in the garden for more than a decade. Our free Foodwise Kids and Foodwise Teens programs are a bright spot for young people, supplementing classroom lessons with real-life learning, promoting healthy eating habits, and providing joyful experiences for kids to participate in their community. These opportunities ensure that kids grow up knowing that the farmers market is for them, and that they have an important role in our food system.
San Francisco youth need your support as Foodwise welcomes them back this fall. We're halfway to our Back to School, Back to the Farmers Market goal to raise $30,000 by August 31, with just 9 days to go! Can you chip in $50, $100, or more now to help us offer critical food education to SFUSD students?
Demand for our Foodwise Kids remains high, and we already have a waitlist of 100 elementary school classes for the fall semester. Hear from some of our teachers about what the Foodwise Kids program means to them and their students:
“In neighborhoods like the one we’re in, it’s harder to get access to farmers markets and fresh vegetables. Kids eat a lot of processed foods, like grab-and-go things…It's really important for the kids to see where their food comes from. It doesn't come from a can. It doesn't come from a shiny plastic bag. It comes from growing it in the ground. It comes from farmers who put work and effort into this. And then and then we create something beautiful out of it.” —Tina Yang, first- and second-grade teacher
“I've been participating in Foodwise with the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market field trips for a lot of years [since 2015]. I'm the school Health Advocate and this program dovetails perfectly with all of our initiatives as far as promoting nutrition, healthy eating, wellness, and community. It checks all the boxes.” —Anne Hughes, fourth-grade teacher
“In first grade, we teach students about the food groups, nutritious eating, and physical activity. This program takes these concepts a step further by providing real-life experiences that show students what healthy eating and buying looks like. The experiences cooking in the classroom and with their parents and classmates are so memorable that students will remember the lessons for a lifetime!” —Hazel Mak, first-grade teacher
Help Foodwise and our teachers make these vital experiences possible for thousands of kids in San Francisco. Donate now to help Bay Area kids connect with fresh food and community today, so they can grow up healthy and become the empowered food leaders of tomorrow. | 