New grants will help improve community health through equitable access to nutritious foods

(NewMediaWire) – January 29, 2021 – DALLAS — As part of the 2020-21 Teaching Gardens® Network grant program, the American Heart Association, the leading global volunteer organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, in collaboration with CAULIPOWER will award 40 schools and community organizations with new resources to boost garden-based learning, enabling equitable access to healthy foods and innovating nutrition education nationwide. Teaching Gardens inspire innovation and incubate new strategies for improving access to healthy food in under-resourced communities.

The American Heart Association and CAULIPOWER aim to remove the barriers that prevent children from receiving access to healthy foods. About 80% of a person’s health is determined by factors other than access and quality of clinical care[1]; one such factor, access to nutritious foods, accounts for 30% of a person’s health outcomes. The Teaching Gardens curriculum has become increasingly important as the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing health disparities – including access to more nutritious meals.

“Research from the American Heart Association shows too many children are not eating the recommended portions of fruits and vegetables, which may put them at higher risk of childhood diabetes and high blood pressure as well as higher risk of heart disease and stroke in adulthood,” said Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., MPH, FAAFP, chief medical officer for prevention for the American Heart Association. “Families living in historically marginalized communities deserve nothing less than equitable access to fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure children start their health journeys off right.”

Gail Becker, founder and CEO of CAULIPOWER added, “Through these gardens, we’re able to teach thousands of children about healthy eating choices while also providing them with fresh produce that they can bring home to their families, many of whom experience food insecurity. This year’s grant recipients will be given the resources to provide nutritious foods and education programs that will empower kids to live healthier lives.”

CAULIPOWER provided funds for the 2020-21 Teaching Gardens grants as part of their $1 million three-year commitment to the Association. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Heart Association and CAULIPOWER are allocating funds from the donation to help those in need, providing over 100,000 meals with food from local farmers to more than 4,500 families dealing with food insecurity across the country over the course of several months.

2020-21 grant recipients include:

• Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Annoor Academy of Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Ballico-Cressey School District, Ballico, California
• Belle W. Baruch Foundation, Georgetown, South Carolina
• Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, Reno, Nevada
• Chicas Verdes, Los Angeles, California
• Clarinda Regional Health Center, Clarinda, IA
• Daughtry Elementary School, Jackson, Georgia
• Dover Elementary, Richardson, Texas
• Dr. Theodore T. Alexander, Jr. Science Center School, Los Angeles, California
• Ethel Jacobsen Elementary School, Surf City, New Jersey
• HCFM Urban Teaching Farm, Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Hiram Elementary School, Hiram, Georgia
• Hursey Montessori, North Charleston, South Carolina
• James B Edwards Elementary School, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
• John McKeever Elementary, San Juan, Texas
• Kiwanis of the Santa Maria Valley – Adam K-Kids, Santa Maria, California
• Legacy Preparatory Charter Academy Plano, Plano, Texas
• Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• One Cool Earth, San Luis, California
• Orca K-8 PTSA, Seattle, Washington
• Para Los Ninos, Los Angeles, California
• Park Crest Elementary, Garland, Texas
• Pathways at Pine Grove/South Alternative Learning Center, Melborne, Florida
• Rainbow Schools, Honolulu, Hawai’i
• Robert Bruce Elementary, Grover Beach, California
• Roots Charter High School, West Valley City, Utah
• Saint Anthony of Padua Gardena, Gardena, California
• SouthTech Academy, Boynton Beach, Florida
• Spring Creek Elementary, Richardson, Texas
• SustainEd Farms, Denver, Colorado
• The Compass School, Kingston, Rhode Island
• The Green Heart Project, Charleston, South Carolina
• The Montessori School of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas
• The North Carolina Leadership Academy, Kernersville, North Carolina
• The Weekday School at University Christian Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• TSU-Early Learning Center, Nashville, Tennessee
• Valley Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (VOCES) Magnet, Sun Valley, California
• W.F. Killip Elementary, Flagstaff, Arizona
• Whitefish School District, Whitefish, Montana

Ensuring equitable health for all has long been one of the American Heart Association’s guiding values. With its new 2024 impact goal, the American Heart Association commits to advancing cardiovascular health for all, including identifying and removing barriers to health care access and quality.

Since 2010, Teaching Gardens at elementary schools and community organizations across the country have helped students learn what it means to be healthy, transforming communities and improving the conditions that affect health in neighborhoods and schools. To learn more about Teaching Gardens Network visit heart.org.

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About CAULIPOWER®

CAULIPOWER® is on a mission to reinvent your favorite foods, one healthy meal hack at a time. CAULIPOWER’s first meal hack, cauliflower crust pizza, created a white-hot category in 2017. Today CAULIPOWER is America’s favorite cauliflower crust pizza, the #1 better-for-you pizza, #1 gluten-free pizza, and fastest growing frozen pizza brand in the U.S. In addition to cauliflower crust pizzas, the CAULIPOWER family of vegetable-forward meal hacks now includes baked not fried chicken tenders, flavored riced cauliflower, cauliflower tortillas, and sweet potato toast. Founder, CEO, and mother of two sons with Celiac Disease, Gail Becker, set out to innovate the frozen food aisle and left a global executive position to launch the company in 2016. Today it remains her mission to eliminate the need for consumers to choose between taste, convenience, and health. CAULIPOWER is brought to you by Vegolutionary Foods, a company of “never-been-dones,” inspired by what people want. Every CAULIPOWER purchase benefits the American Heart Association Teaching Gardens Network, a program installing edible teaching gardens in underserved public schools. Find one of CAULIPOWER’s 25,000 retailers and get recipe inspiration at eatCAULIPOWER.com.

For Media Inquiries:

AHA Media Contact: Tracie Bertaut, APR, tracie.bertaut@heart.org, (504) 722-1695

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org and stroke.org

CAULIPOWER Media Contact: Anita Chatterjee, anita@a-gamepr.com, 917-421-0025