Reduced access to healthy fruits and vegetables is one of the factors contributing to the dramatic rise in childhood obesity today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 51% of children and adolescents eat less than one serving of fruit per day. It's no wonder 69% of parents recently ranked obesity as the third most important problem facing children today–behind only drug and alcohol abuse and violence.

That's why Tom's of Maine founded An Apple a Day, a program to improve healthy eating habits among children. Tom's of Maine will work with local organizations to distribute fruit and nutritional education to schoolchildren and support efforts to educate farmers on how to grow heirloom fruits.


Our partners



Red Tomato, Canton, MA
www.redtomato.org

Red Tomato helps find markets and fair prices for family farmers and teaches consumers and trade buyers to seek out locally and ecologically grown produce from family farms. Born and Raised Here, a program by Red Tomato, makes food education fun by teaching children about fruits and vegetables and where they come from. With the help of students from the Friedman School of Nutrition, Science and Policy at Tufts University, Born and Raised Here will provide nutrition education to low–income moms and kids in elementary schools, charter schools, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) offices.

In partnership with Tom's of Maine, Red Tomato will be able to expand the Born and Raised Here program, reaching twice as many WIC moms and four times as many children.




The Ecology Center, Berkeley, CA
www.ecologycenter.org

The Ecology Center promotes environmentally and socially responsible practices through programs that educate, demonstrate, and provide direct services. Farm Fresh Choice, an Ecology Center program primarily run by community residents, addresses the unmet needs of children in South and West Berkeley, areas where residents suffer disproportionately from diet–related chronic diseases, lack of access to fresh produce outlets, and other barriers to healthy eating. The program offers fresh produce at below–retail prices at after–school childcare centers and strengthens the connection between family farmers and urban consumers of similar ethnicities and cultural traditions.

The grant from Tom's of Maine will help finance an expansion of Farm Fresh Choice into three South and West Berkeley preschools.




Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Unity, ME
www.mofga.org

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) advocates for food production that enhances and protects the ecological as well as economic vitality of rural communities. The organization is perhaps best known for the Common Ground Country Fair, a celebration of ecologically sustainable practices that draws over 50,000 visitors each year.

In partnership with Tom's of Maine, MOFGA will expand their educational programming for children to include an integrated orchard tour that focuses on the apple as a metaphor for the benefits of healthy, nutritious, locally available food. The tour will include cooking demonstrations and educational displays, and children will be given a variety of organic apple samples to take home.