Joy of gardening: a hospital-based cooking and gardening program

Background Nutrition interventions aid in implementing healthy eating. Garden-enhanced nutrition intervention programs have been conducted in schools. We sought to assess feasibility of a hospital-based cooking and gardening program. Methods The cohort study implemented a 3-week integrated cooking and gardening program in the United States (Seattle, WA). We recruited participants with ages 8-15 years from ambulatory clinics. We conducted three 3-week series hospital-based cooking and gardening program. Children and parents were given pre- and post-program (1 year) surveys. The surveys assessed child participation in food preparation and gardening, strengths and weaknesses of the program, and identified parents' opinions towards sustaining healthy behaviors. Results Eighteen children participated in the hospital-based cooking and gardening program. At 1-year follow-up, 78% of participants were gardening at home and 100% of participants were cooking at home. Conclusions Novel approaches to combat obesity are needed. A hospital-based cooking and gardening program is a novel intervention to consider for nutrition education.