By Melissa Wagoner
Getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables is important to Jacquie Curtis, co-manager of the Silverton Farmer’s Market.
To help children acquire a taste for apricots to zucchini, Curtis is implementing a program to do just that. It’s called the Power of Produce Club, the POP Club for short.
“It was something started by the market manager in Oregon City in May 2011,” Curtis said. “Now it’s spread across the US and is in Canada as well.”
Focusing on children 5 to 11 years old, the POP program gives them the chance to visit the market each week and try new vegetables for free.
Beginning at the first Silverton Farmer’s Market on May 9, children will be able to sign up for a Passport to Health and receive a reusable shopping bag. Then, each week thereafter, they can come back to the market and receive two dollars in tokens to spend with produce vendors.
“They can shop for fruits and vegetables and food plants. Our vendors will have areas set aside for the POP Program,” Curtis explained.
“In Oregon City they found that 72 percent tried new vegetables and 70 percent requested that produce at home.”
Curtis, a nurse and mother to two daughters, is passionate about healthy food.
“I see firsthand the effect it has on health. Childhood is the place to start that,” Curtis said.
To get the program up and running, Curtis and fellow manager Stacy Higby are looking for community support both in the form of donations and to help with children’s activities during this summer’s market season.
“Because we’re incorporated, we work on a shoestring budget. So what we need from the community is support, if they are able to recognize the advantage,” Curtis said. “It gets families out together doing something positive.”
For more information or to get involved email Silverton [email protected]
