Container Gardening and Healthy Eating is a program offered to a low-income area of Mason County. Classes have been provided to families at the community center in years past. Still, due to Covid-19 and space restrictions, it was decided to offer the program virtually with supplies delivered to participants if they lived in the housing areas and supplies were available for pick-up for the general public who participated. 

The program involved the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) (Anita Boyd), horticulture agent (Macy Fawns), and program assistant (Meredith Lamkin). The series offered classes once a week for four weeks in March and again four weeks in June virtually; all ages were invited to attend, and parents were encouraged to allow their children to participate. 

Participants learned how to plant and take care of a vegetable for each lesson. The Extension office provided all materials needed. Each participant grew a vegetable in a container to take home; they also learned to identify and control insects and diseases. Vegetables planted included peas, turnips, lettuce, carrots, peppers, cucumber, green beans, and squash. After planting, the EFNEP assistant taught lessons on healthy eating and provided a recipe with the main ingredient being the vegetable that was prepared that session. The program taught participants how to garden in early spring and then replace those crops with a summer garden to utilize the container gardens throughout the growing season. 50% of participants surveyed said the garden they grew or planned to grow provided them with vegetables that they usually did not eat or have access to. 100% said, “I learned how gardening can improve my health.”

The extension office worked with people of different ethnicities, economic backgrounds, ages, and genders through this program. Overall, the program was successful, with 92% indicating they would participate in the program again if offered and asked for programs that included fruit production for the next set of classes.