In the /*Bronx*/, kids living in one of the poorest areas of the country are getting the benefits of healthy eating.
It's the learning garden: planters filled with herbs and vegetables on a terrace of Haven Academy, a charter school in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
In the community, diabetes, obesity and poor nutrition are rampant, but this school is hoping to literally plant the seeds of change.
"It's an opportunity for the students to harvest the things that they're eating," said Jessica Nauiokas, Principal of Haven Academy.
Inside the cafeteria, the healthy meals begin with a chant of thanks.
It's served family style, because these kids often don't have traditional families.
Two-thirds of the students are either in the foster system or their families are receiving "preventative help".
Bill Baccaglini heads up the NY Foundling which started in this hard pressed community.
On National Food Day, there was a celebration of the approach to health at Haven Academy, a cooking lesson for the 4th graders, and the official opening of their learning garden.
Those things are all fostering a taste for healthy living.
"It's making sure we're helping kids, nutrition is a big part of that," Nauiokas said.
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