Local residents can make sure every child in Food Literacy Center’s after-school programs at Capitol Heights Academy and Pacific Elementary, goes home for holiday break with a box of 25 fruits and vegetables – five servings for five days. The group hopes to raise 7,500 pieces of produce to send students home with the recommended daily serving of fruits & vegetables.

This food drive will take place 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Dec. 14 at two Save Mart Supermarkets locations, one located at 5600 Folsom Blvd. and the other at 7960 Gerber Rd. 

Participants are encouraged to purchase produce at Save Mart Supermarkets during the six-hour window, but can also drop off fruits and vegetables that will stay fresh for several days, such as carrots, oranges, and apples.

For more information or to make a monetary donation toward the campaign, contact Aimee Darville at Aimee@FoodLiteracyCenter.org or (916) 212-3636. 

Food Literacy Center was established in July 2011 to inspire kids to eat their vegetables. Students learn fruit and vegetable appreciation, how to read nutrition labels, basic cooking skills and environmental impacts of their food choices. The nonprofit also runs the Food Literacy Academy, which trains community members as food literacy teachers. To date, the nonprofit has 57 trained food literacy advocates and has over 90 active volunteers. Food literacy teachers serve over 600 students weekly in after-school programs and 2,400 kids annually in library and other community programs. After just three months of food literacy education, 70 percent of students request the foods they have tasted in class, including broccoli, celery and oranges. Ninety-two percent of K-1st grade students say healthy food tastes good, and 88 percent of children understand how to read a nutrition label.

To make a donation visit: www.foodliteracycenter.org.