Day care greenhouse teaching families about healthy eating

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local woman hopes to change how families in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood think about healthy eating. She’s starting by teaching children through a day care greenhouse.

For 20 years, Mary’s Little Lambs Day Care has remained at the same location, offering services to families. However, after the rising cost of groceries and inflation Wendy Jenkins, the owner, received a grant and decided to add a greenhouse on site to teach gardening to children.

“In our community, there are a lot of fruits and good vegetables that are reasonably priced. So, we came up with the idea of starting our garden, and we wanted to involve the community,” said Jenkins.

Mary’s Little Lambs Day Care is ranked as a level three day care in the state’s Brighter Future program. According to Brighter Future Indiana, day cares that achieve its three-path quality program status meet the state’s standards of planned curriculum to help children prepare for kindergarten, offering learning environments, professional staff development, and focusing on health and safety.

Its motto has been “shaping minds since 1999,” offering children well-balanced nutritional meals, a preschool classroom, a lunch room, a nursery and a greenhouse. So far, the children have learned to plant strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, and popcorn.

Jenkins says neighbors in the community have also started their gardens to live healthier lives.

“Sometimes it takes one or two people to do something, then everybody else starts to get on board. We are trying to get the community involved, and hopefully, more people will join and grow produce to help our health,” said Jenkins.