Impact of School Garden-based Education on Dry Bean Knowledge and Preference

Currently in the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death anddiabetes is seventh—both are primarily diet-related diseases. Despite the evidence that pulses in the diet may reduce risks of these diseases, pulses are an underutilized food in the United States. Garden-based education can be an effective tool for teaching students healthy eating habits at a young age, and school gardens are currently in 32% of K-12 school districts nationwide. The goal of this study was to determine if a three-week school garden-based pulse nutrition and biology education program could have a positive impact on knowledge of and preference for dry beans among fourth grade students. In Spring 2014, a STEM-focused curriculum was developed and implemented in six fourth grade classes in Skagit and Whatcom Counties (n = 120). In the school garden, lessons included planting dry beans and calculating percent emergence and average plant height. In the classroom, lessons included nutrition (with a focus on high fiber content) and biology (plant parts and their function, and plant life cycle). Results from a pre- and posteducation student survey indicated that the education program had a positive impact on the students’ knowledge regarding dry bean nutrition and biology. After the education program, 38% of the students learned that beans are an excellent source of dietary fiber (P < 0.0001), and 17% learned that beans are found in pods on the plant (P = 0.0001). After the education program, students also indicated increased preferences toward eating dry beans, where 52% reported a positive change in their attitude toward more dry beans being served in the school cafeteria (P < 0.0001); 31% reported eating more beans (P < 0.0001); 35% indicated they would like to increase their frequency of eating dry beans (P < 0.0001); and 43% indicated that dry beans are a healthy food choice (P < 0.0001). The overall increase in preference for dry beans suggests that students may increase their demand for this food crop after participating in a school-garden based education program where dry beans are the target crop. As students become more familiar with dry beans through school garden-based lessons, their consumption of dry beans and other pulse crops will likely increase, and this should contribute to their overall better health.