Through our Apples in the Classroom program, Apple Seeds partners with schools and community organizations to establish activities – such as gardening clubs, healthy cooking classes, field trips to farms and farmers markets, and special presentations – that serve students and their families. Our focus is on participatory activities that are fun for students and engaging for their families. Program activities are based on methods that are successful both locally and in other schools across the country.

Why Students Need Apples in the Classroom

• The American Association of Pediatrics predicts that for the first time in American history, children will have a shorter, sicker lifespan than their parents.
• According to BMI data from Arkansas public schools, 38% of students are overweight or at-risk for being overweight.
• Studies indicate that most young people will never overcome their overweight condition – up to 80 percent of obese teens become obese adults.
• The Surgeon General ranks obesity as the number one public health concern. Each year, obesity-related illnesses kill almost as many Americans as tobacco.
• Among children and adolescents, overweight or obesity is linked to emotional and social problems and to serious medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and depression.
• The Center for Disease Control warns that unless American families change the way they eat and live, one in three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes.

Our programs are improving students' knowledge about food and its impacts on their lives. Program participants are gaining a better understanding of how food is grown, how to prepare it, and how to make food choices that lead to better health.

If you are interested in having Apple Seeds partner with your school or community organization, please contact us at 479-587-0888 or info@appleseedsinc.org