There’s a difference between telling someone that eating healthy can be tasty and showing them.

When we are told that something can be healthy and tasty, our southern palates may shrink at the thought of eating fresh grown vegetables that haven’t been breaded and fried.    

However, there are plenty of ways to eat healthy, while not giving up taste. Wednesday, students at Poplarville Lower Elementary got a chance to experience what many have been trying to tell them.

That experience occurred when the students were introduced to a number of great tasting foods prepared by a chef. The best part was the foods prepared during the event were grown by the students in their garden, located on campus.

The garden is a project partially funded through a grant with the Mississippi State University Extension Service that allowed the students to see first hand how food is grown.

Since farms and gardens have become a rarity, many young people don’t know what a tomato plant looks like, much less how to care for one. This project provided them with that knowledge.

It started with building the beds to grow the food, and then tend to the plants as they matured and bore fruit, and vegetables.

Far too often our busy schedules lend to stops at fast food establishments in an effort to save time. But we miss out on the experience of preparing our own meals when a quick trip through the drive-through replaces cooking a meal at home.

By not only showing the children how to grow their own food, but also showing them that by preparing meals at home with those fresh grown ingredients can be tasty, the school district is enabling these young people to make healthier choices as they become adults.

We hope that other school districts in Pearl River County find a way to implement similar programs.