Stanford University's Farm to Table Camp Cultivates Healthy Eating Habits in Children

Grants

Oct 7

In the heart of Sunnyvale, California, Stanford University’s unique summer camp is fostering a love for healthy eating. In 2023, a postdoctoral research scholar at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, Linda Koh, applied for a grant through Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH) to fund the expansion of Farm to Table Camp, which is grounded in research that demonstrates that school-based programs with cooking and gardening components have potential to improve dietary intake and adoption of healthier habits. AIH was delighted to provide the funding and support campers in learning about how food is grown and how to prepare it, sustainability, and more (see photos below).

"We are incredibly grateful for AIH’s support which has allowed us to expand Farm to Table Summer Camp with Santa Clara Unified School District in some really exciting ways! We’ve been able to enhance our programming, deepen our research on children’s eating habits, and foster hands-on experiences that help kids connect with where their food comes from. This partnership has enabled us to create lasting impact, building lifelong healthy habits in the next generation," says Dr. Christopher Gardner, Director of Nutrition Studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.

AIH looks forward to supporting Linda Koh, Dr. Gardner, and Stanford University in adapting and integrating the Full Plate Living curriculum into camp programming and conducting research that addresses upstream causes of obesity and promotes sustainable, healthy plant-based options and strategies.

As the research is still ongoing for this grant project, we anticipate being able to share the conclusions when they are published. Sign up for AIH’s Whole Health Digest to receive updates related to this project and others.