First Lady Michelle Obama got a little help on Friday in her national campaign to fight child obesity.
A third of American children are obese but some youngsters in McKinney are leading the charge to cut those numbers.
They’re students at Riddle Street Montessori in McKinney who, school head Bhooma Srinivasan says, will soon learn firsthand about vegetables.
“They’re actually going to do their own gardening. Every kid will have their own plant and they will take care of the plant," she said.
When they started planting, the shovels took a little getting used to but Collin County Master Gardeners showed the youngsters how playing in the dirt can be healthy.
Now, they’re well on their way. They planted tomatoes, jalapenos and other vegetables, to go with the sugar-free, cholesterol-free meals they are already getting at school.
The key, gardeners say, is simple: If you can get kids to plant and grow their own vegetables they are much more inclined to eat those vegetables.
Riddle Street Montessori intends to use the vegetables as part of a long term lesson on health that the kids will take with them as they get older.
E-mail: jmccaa@wfaa.com
