‘AINA IS: Actively Integrating Nutrition & Agriculture In Schools

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AINA In Schools is a farm-to-school program dedicated to connecting children to their land, waters and food in order to grow a healthier future for Hawai’i.

We are working to achieve three main goals:

Addressing childhood health issues like obesity/overweight by fostering healthy eating habits
Encouraging environmental stewardship by connecting children to the land that sustains them
Creating an institutional market for Hawaii’s farmers and their produce

During the 2006-2008 school years, ‘AINA IS will be piloted at five elementary schools on O’ahu: ‘Aikahi, Makaha, Sunset Beach, Wai’alae, and Wheeler Elementary Schools. Following this pilot period, we plan to make the program available to more of Hawaii’s schools.

Six Integrated Program Components Incorporate Hawai’i State Academic Standards:

Nutrition Education in the classroom teaches students to make healthy choices that will last a lifetime
Garden-based Learning reconnects students to the natural world by experiencing the joys of growing food
Agricultural Literacy introduces students to where their food comes from and who grows their food
Healthy School Lunch puts ‘AINA lessons into practice and provides a market for Hawaii’s farmers
Solid Waste Management reduces, reuses and recycles waste in gardens, cafeterias, and classrooms
Family & Community Outreach raises awareness to support ‘AINA IS at school and at home

Community_recruitment_flyer.pdf