National Program Allies with Keck School of Medicine of USC to Message Healthy Eating and Good Nutrition as the First Step in Cancer Prevention

LOS ANGELES, CA (March XX, 2011) - On Wednesday, March 30^th, the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) will join   schools across the country participating in American Heart Association Teaching Gardens. The collaboration among the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, American Heart Association Teaching Garden, and Keck School of Medicine of USC will symbolically communicate the intrinsic connection between good health, nutrition, and lower cancer risks through the installation of the garden at the medical school site. The event, which will include building garden beds, planting an edible garden, a nutrition lesson, and a cooking class, will be attended by Hollywood philanthropist and Teaching Garden co-founder Kelly Meyer and Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, M.D., M.B.A.

Last June,  Dean Puliafito showed his commitment to the Teaching Garden project by participating in the installation of a teaching garden at Nevin Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He brought the USC Marching Band to help inspire the students to make healthy food choices as a means to combat childhood obesity, but also as a means of prevention to other health issues like cancer.  He announced that he too would have a garden at the Keck School to symbolize this link. 

One of the key elements of the Teaching Garden is to “pay it forward” by students who received a Teaching Garden.  The Keck School of Medicine of USC garden will be installed as a joint effort with 30 veterans from the Farmer-Veteran Coalition and students from Nevin Elementary School and Point Dume Marine Science School. Dean Puliafito and the Keck School will once again be leading a generation of people in improving health and well being.  The Dean will lead the planting and dedication of the Teaching Garden with his medical students and Nevin Elementary School students.

The Teaching Garden concept, which fights childhood obesity by promoting nutrition and fitness education in elementary schools, was first inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign (www.letsmove.gov). Founders Kelly Meyer and Chi Kim created the Teaching Garden to reinforce these ideals by creating a living laboratory. The program was piloted nearly a year ago at Malibu’s Point Dume Marine Science School, where marine and environmental sciences are integrated with organic gardening to promote ecologically sound food and lifestyle choices. Since then, theTeaching Garden has been adopted by the American Heart Association as part of its prevention strategies and is being implemented in schools nationwide. Through these gardens, students apply the simple process of putting a seed into the earth, nurturing it and ultimately harvesting the food. The ultimate goal: hands-on exploration of life sciences that lead to one’s positive choices for health and fitness.

With the help of the American Heart Association, the Teaching Garden will create a network of schools that have implemented the program by sharing curriculum, ideas and communicating results with each other.

The Farmer-Veteran Coalition (www.farmvetco.org),a team of trained organic farmers,will participate in The Teaching Garden, helping the students bring the garden to life.

For more information about Teaching Garden or the March 30th event please visit www.takepart.com/teachinggarden.

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