Food and agricultural education in Michigan elementary schools : teacher interest in, awareness of, and use of resources

Most youth consume inadequate amounts of fruits and vegetables, increasing their risk for diet-related diseases. At the same time, many youth lack an understanding of the relationships between their food, agriculture, the environment, society, and their health. An understanding of these relationships has the potential to enable youth to make healthy food choices and participate in a food system that benefits communities, the environment, and economies. Schools are ideal settings for food and agricultural education, but it is not required in most classrooms. In addition, barriers such as a lack of time and resources prevent the incorporation of non-required education. To assess teacher interests in food and agricultural education and resource needs, a statewide, online survey of Michigan kindergarten through sixth grade teachers was conducted in 2015, with 1,196 respondents. The survey asked teachers about their interest in food and agricultural topics, subject incorporation, interest in resources, and awareness of existing resources. Analysis suggests that teachers were most interested in the topics of school gardens, organic food and farming, and youth entrepreneurial opportunities. There was also a surprising amount of interest in incorporating these topics into English language arts, where they are currently not common. Respondents indicated that it was very important that resources have no fee to use and are hands-on. The majority, however, were not aware of key existing resources, which suggests that outreach efforts could be strengthened. Providing resources shaped by the interests of teachers may help to expand the incorporation of food and agricultural education in Michigan classrooms.