In inner cities across the nation, residents often suffer from a lack of access to healthy foods, especially fresh produce. Many neighborhoods rely on the corner grocery store for their staple foods, and these small stores often lack the fresh fruits and vegetables that are the foundation of a healthy diet. In a country where obesity has been identified as a serious national health problem, many families who would like to improve their health by eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day are stranded, often without access to transportation, unable to reach the suburban supermarkets that many Americans take for granted.

Camp FRESH is a program designed to empower Wilmington youth to become agents of change within their communities.  By working to improve access to healthy foods in their communities and becoming ambassadors for good nutrition and healthy lifestyles, the Camp FRESH teens hope to give their families and neighbors the tools to build a healthier lifestyle.

In the summer of 2007, 37 youth from five urban neighborhoods enrolled in Camp FRESH at Christiana Care's Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute and learned how to become advocates for improving the health environment in their city. They surveyed more than 420 Wilmington residents to find out what impacts their health behaviors, like choosing healthy foods and getting enough physical activity.

“Since I was about 12, I realized I wasn’t eating well, and I really liked junk food,” said Camp FRESH teen Elenora Farrell. “At Camp FRESH I learned a lot about how to replace junk food with healthy food. I even lost 16 pounds by just changing my eating habits.” Elenora also influenced how her family eats and exercises. “Now, my whole family is getting healthy,” she said. “We eat differently now – as healthy as we can. We also talk more about what we eat. When my mom goes shopping, she buys fresh fruits. And we do our best to take a walk every day.”

The Camp FRESH teens also went into 24 Wilmington corner groceries, small stores, local markets and supermarkets to take a brief inventory of what healthy items were available and how much these items cost. They verified that a lack of access to nutritious foods was a serious obstacle to healthy eating habits in their communities, and they urged local store owners to stock more fresh fruits and vegetables. They asked Wilmington residents what they would like to see happen to change their current scenario, and a majority supported an increase in the number of community produce gardens and better access to farmers' markets. This spurred the addition of the Camp FRESH farmers market and community garden in 2008. New recruits joined with teens returning from the previous year to build on the program and work in the garden at Howard Vocational Technical High School. Community partners, including Highland Orchards, The Veggie Shack and the Delaware Center for Horticulture, joined to provide additional resources and expertise.

For more information about the Camp FRESH program, including how to get involved, contact Brian Rahmer at 302-428-6524.

Camp FRESH Community Garden & Farmers’ Market

Fresh vegetables, from the farm to your neighborhood! Shop for fresh fruits and vegetables and enjoy free demonstrations and information about healthy eating and healthy cooking. The farmers’ market is open to the public and is presented as part of the Camp FRESH program, which teaches youth how to be advocates for good nutrition.

Mondays and Thursdays
Noon to 4 p.m. at Howard Vocational Technical High School
401 East 12th Street

For more information, call 302-428-2169 or 302-428-6524.