Courtesy photo.
VENTURA COUNTY — As part of its new Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative, Students for Eco-Education & Agriculture (SEEAG) is bringing its message of healthy eating, proper nutrition and daily exercise to classrooms throughout Ventura County using its new 30-foot-long cargo van—the “Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom.”
Over the next three years, the mobile classroom van will visit over 120 schools, reaching 10,000 Ventura County second through fourth graders, many who are Title 1 low-income children. SEEAG will introduce hands-on activities to increase children’s knowledge and preference for fresh Ventura County fruits and vegetables. As part of the program, students will get a chance to prepare healthy snacks using locally grown crops. They will also learn how to incorporate healthy living practices, good nutrition and exercise into their daily activities.
The colorful van will carry free educational supplies, Ventura County-grown farm fresh produce and recipe cards and nutrition information that students can share with their families. In addition, SEEAG will be promoting oral health by supplying free toothbrushes and dental floss.
To help cover van and transportation costs, SEEAG is making available 11 positions on the vehicle for business/organization logo placement—four on each side and three on the back.
“We want kids to get excited whenever they see our van pull up at their school,” says Mary Maranville, SEEAG founder and CEO. “Our goal is to cultivate a deeper appreciation for our local agriculture, and healthy eating and wellness practices that will stay with these young students throughout their life,”
For more about how to add a logo to SEEAG’s Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom, visit www.SEEAG.org and click on “Support Us” (www.seeag.org/vccwi) or email SEEAG’s Emily Hidalgo at emily.hidalgo@seeag.org.
About SEEAG: Founded in 2008, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help young students understand the origins of their food by bridging the gap between agriculture and consumption through its agricultural education programming. SEEAG’s “The Farm Lab” program based in Ventura County teaches schoolchildren about the origins of their food and the importance of local farmland by providing schools with classroom agricultural education and free field trips to farms. Through this program, over 25,000 elementary school students in Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey. SEEAG also hosts annual Farm Days—Santa Barbara County Farm Day, September 28, 2019 and Ventura County Farm Day, November 9, 2019 For more information, visit www.seeag.org or email Mary Maranville at mary@seeag.org