This is How Dutch Kids Enjoy and Learn from Keeping Vegetable Gardens (brightvibes.com)

I was so interested in this subject that i felt compelled to respond.  sorry for its length...A few years ago i managed a family service in a most disadvantaged community in Kent. The families that i supported came from an array of chaotic backgrounds and traumatic experiences that initially our community service mirrored that of a war zone. The rates of families on CP and CHIN were alarming. i spent most of my days stopping fights breaking out, and arguments NOT with children, but their parents. It was the toughest first few months. but in partnership with those families we layed out some very heavy ground rules.

As i grow closer to these families i began to appreciate their stories, the reasons why they behaved the way they did, and how the effects these inter generational cycles of abuse had normalized behaviors and how they had become deeply entrenched survival modes .  i began to observe how hyper vigilant these collection of people were. Every time we put together any kind of activity plan the usual comments of ...this wont work !... i cant do it! echoed around the room. Anyone who wanted to give something ago, became lost  against the back drop of negativity, or undermined anyone's capacity to be able to organize themselves . it wasn't that they couldn't. it was that they were used to being told how to.  they had not been used to having a choice.    

but for all the chaos though, there was what we called our service doable's. these are the must have services that create environments for learning to take place. these would be the breakfast, lunch, and teatime clubs. As a Nursery Manager i would often remark ( you cannot feed a young minds, until you have feed the tummy). At these sessions the families were extremely organised they worked well together and they quickly understood the benefits of proper diets. Parents witnessed behavioral changes, instead of the usual packet of crisps for breakfast, they noted cereals sustained children for longer,  that a piece of fruit i have given my child will not send them into a sugar rush state like a packet of sweets will etc. for the first time parents were seeing for themselves actions in motion. but they also realized they had a poor relationship with food. they were addicts of the high salt highly processed types. but worse they had no clue why. all they knew was that if Supermarkets sold it it must be ok.

Here i gained one of my finest ideas. if we are to be more active. if we are to support families better, if we are combat obesity, if we were to support healthier lifestyles. if we were going to make real change then just handing out leaflets was never going to be the answer, traumatized families are more complex than leaflets. they do not retain information, and they have no desire to learn another skill promoted by well meaning professionals that have no clue how adversity impacts the brain or their lives. Local Authority at the time came down heavy on families with obese children, it is seen as neglect. but if you have no clue or desire to understand the food chain, nutrients, or the benefits of carrots cauliflower or cous cous then we sometimes are setting families up to fail. 

So with no idea how, i set about engaging with everyone i could think of to create an allotment. and within a year that is exactly what we got. i could go on forever about the benefits of that environmental goldmine.  But Community behaviors changed for lots of reasons, it was just magic,  families collaborated, and well being soared.  The community came together sharing knowledge and ideas and more importantly they had a new found respect for one another .  Everyone had a role, from the nurturing of seeds, to planting, and then the gathering of crops. harvesting and freezing food to use in home cooking. These families had been part of it all . for complex families they need to understand how they engage with food, and the relationships they have with it. we need to understand for complex families, manufactures supply a dinner on a table, its as simple as that, thinking about themselves and their health is not a priority, just surviving another day is. it is us who needs to understand when families are part of the process the learning in motion happens and changes occur.