Why Partnerships Matter Now More Than Ever
No newsflash here: Children’s health is in crisis.
Up to 60-70 percent of a child’s diet is ultraprocessed foods. Childhood obesity and diet-related chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes continue to rise. And despite what TikTok suggests, these big, messy challenges (what public health calls “wicked problems”) have no single, simple solutions.
In times of uncertainty about funding, priorities, and school policies, one thing remains clear: we can’t do it alone. Partnerships are critical, not just in challenging times, but when building (and sustaining) a movement for healthier kids.
At Small Bites, high-quality food education is what we do best. But food and nutrition education are just one piece of the puzzle to help kids become thriving, healthy, happy adults.
We need partners working on food access, school meal innovation, farmer support, environmental education, physical activity, and public health strategy. When we work together, we act as a family with a shared mission, each of us bringing our strengths to build a healthier future for kids.
To create real change, we can’t work in silos. Partnerships help realize and multiply our impact. And, let’s be honest– It’s also just a lot more fun to work together.
With that in mind, we’d like to share a few highlights from our work with a few of our beloved partners in the last year:
Eat Real Certified + Marietta City Schools
Eat Real Certified is a national nonprofit focused on reimagining school lunch. Eat Real has a goal of reaching over 1 million kids through partnerships with school districts to offer support and recognition for integrating local, sustainable foods, increasing scratch cooking, and more. (and bonus: If you haven’t seen Eat Real’s Executive Director Nora LaTorre’s Ted X speech, check it out here! )
One of our shared partners is Marietta City Schools, where we supported 13 PreK and Kindergarten classrooms to become Veggie Ready!
The Eat Real, Small Bites Adventure Club, and Marietta City School Nutrition Teams!
Students tasting Carrots & Honey Mustard Dip!
Newton County + USDA Farm to School
Newton County is nested about an hour outside of Atlanta. It’s home to some incredible teachers and students, and was the perfect home for us to implement our Veggie Ready program with the largest group of 21 PreK and K teachers. Thanks to a USDA Farm to School grant, we were able to introduce 360 students to hands-on cooking and our partners at Love is Love Cooperative Farm hosted these kiddos for an immersive farm field trip where they could meet the farmers and explore the farm!
In this rural county, Newton Education Foundation, Newton County School Nutrition, Love is Love Cooperative Farm, and Small Bites worked together to reach 21 classrooms with 360 students. Kids tasted veggies grown from Love is Love Cooperative Farm, building food acceptance and agricultural awareness. These kinds of partnerships are critical!
“The exposure and everything is amazing. It feels great as a teacher to be able to show them new things and make it fun without it being overwhelming for me or for them. ”
Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (FRSWCD) is comprised of farmers, landowners, and community leaders who are dedicated to the conservation, wise use, and protection of natural resources in the Flint River Basin. The Lower Flint River Basin in southwest Georgia is one of the most ecologically rich river systems in the southeast and the epicenter of Georgia's vibrant agricultural economy. (Never been there? Check out how gorgeous this river is!)
We loved partnering with FRSWCD, as a way to partner with schools in Southwest Georgia. Their focus on sustainability and education led to 17 classrooms in Seminole and Decatur Counties graduating as Adventurous Eaters. Even the FRSWCD Board members got into the action and created our Green Machine Spinach Smoothies!
Students at Seminole County Elementary School tasting “Crunchy Cucumber Wraps”!
"The students became more aware of how to read a recipe and how to measure. They loved getting stickers when they tried the recipes. They were excited and very engaged."
– Ms. Tina Fain, Agriculture Teacher
HealthMPowers
HealthMPowers is a powerhouse for children’s health in Georgia. And, fun fact– our very first partner since 2018! In addition to providing nutrition education, they founded an innovative program called Girls Empowering Movement (GEM) Initiative, which has helped thousands of middle school girls increase their physical activity and fitness levels.
HealthMPowers has team members that travel to early care and education (ECE) and afterschool programs to provide high quality education. We partner with HealthMPowers to bring Veggie Ready to their partnered ECE and afterschool sites across Georgia. This Spring, over 1,800 kids tasted more than 7,200 bites of veggies across their partner ECE and afterschool program sites!
"The children get excited to learn about the food, so that makes me excited to teach them about it."
– Korien Stroud, ECE teacher
Open Hand Atlanta
Open Hand Atlanta focuses on empowering its clients through food access and nutrition education. Open Hand’s Farm to Early Care and Education Strong Roots programming is available to ECE sites to help support improvements in the nutrition and food environment for young children. This program provides Harvest of the Month deliveries, technical assistance, and nutrition education resources, including the Veggie Ready program.
We love partnering with Open Hand, and this Spring, 21 ECE classrooms explored Veggie Ready lessons and became Adventurous Eaters thanks to that partnership! A big congratulations to the ECE sites that have graduated from the Open Hand Strong Roots Farm to ECE program AND the Veggie Ready program this Spring.
"Seeing kids exploring, tasting, and bringing home produce and excitement throughout the Veggie Ready program has ultimately brought our vision for our Farm to ECE program together." – Katie Leite
Partnerships Build Movements
In a time when funding for food education can be uncertain and health outcomes seem daunting, partnerships aren’t optional. They are the key to solving big problems, creating healthy kids, and building healthier communities for generations to come.
Happy tasting!
