Twelve paper plates are laid out on a table at the Ray D. Prueter Library in Port Hueneme. Each has a chunk of banana placed in the center.
A dozen children get ready to make this week’s healthy snack from the ingredients placed out for sharing — berries, yogurt, apple juice.
The ingredients are tipped into bowls and mixed together, while nearby some other kids are taking part in a nutrition class. It’s all part of a free program run by the Prueter Library in Port Hueneme and Food Share Ventura County, called Kids Farmers Market.
"Our Kids Farmers Market program is nutrition education along with a recipe component so that kids can learn how to cook in the kitchen alongside their parents or make healthy snacks and treats," explained Caitlin Hagemann, program manager with Food Share Ventura County.
"Every item that FoodShare distributes, about 40 percent of that is fresh fruits and vegetables," explained Hagemann. We live in a very ag-rich community. We have a lot of fruits and vegetables around us. We know that they're expensive at the grocery store. And so families really appreciate it, and we want to teach kids how to cook and prepare."
She walks the bowls of fruity goo to the blender, and it’s whizzed up to make a fruit smoothie. Seconds later, the sweet smell of creamy concoctions fills the air as the kids proudly sample the pink-hued smoothies they’ve made.
"It's so good and extraordinary," said one.
Their parents and caregivers say it’s a fun way to get children excited about healthy eating.
"If it's something healthy and I put it on their plate, they're probably not gonna eat it, especially if it's a vegetable," said one parent. "But if they make it, then they're more inclined to eat it because they're so proud of it; they love it. Great for them to be in community; it's great for them to work with other kids."
"It's hard to get them to eat the fruits, you know, so this makes them fun," said another.
"My grandson seems to enjoy interacting with the food, and it makes him want to eat it since he put it together," said another caregiver.
"It's really great, especially since she used to drink smoothies," said a mom, "So now she knows how it's created."
But programs like this are about so much more than making a smoothie, says the library’s Kandee Kosior.
"I think it's just a wonderful way to share community. It's a really wonderful way to celebrate summer and to celebrate friendship, to celebrate learning, all of those good library things."
Behind the fun is a more serious goal. For many Ventura County families, summer can mean one less reliable source of meals when school is out.
Monica White, President and CEO of Food Share Ventura County, said without free school meals, families have to stretch already tight grocery budgets even tighter — and this time of year is when food insecurity becomes an even bigger challenge.
"We serve 250,000 individuals, and a lot of those individuals are children; they're students. And during the summer months, it's really hard because they're not getting their lunches at school. We teach them about what a good plate looks like, and we bring the food in so they can actually taste it, so they could teach their parents what a good meal looks like."
Before they head home, each child leaves with more than a new recipe. They’re given a box of fresh fruit and vegetables to share with their family.
