Member Spotlight: How One Georgia Teacher is Making a Big Impact with Veggie Ready
At C.J. Hicks Elementary School in Rockdale County, Georgia, agriculture and sustainability teacher Sarah Davie is doing more than teaching students about the environment—she’s inspiring a lifelong love of healthy food.
Ms. Davie is one of Small Bites Adventure Club’s first “Veggie Ready” teachers. The Veggie Ready program kicked off in 2024, with the goal of exposing young children to fruits and vegetables before they reach first grade. Veggie Ready will “graduate” its 2nd cohort of teachers in May 2025. This program is part of a comprehensive initiative with the national non-profit Eat Real and the USDA Farm to School Grants Program.
Children in three participating schools in Rockdale County will have the opportunity to create monthly hands-on recipes with their teachers! And when they head to lunch, they will likely see even more local foods, thanks to Nutrition Director Blaine Allen.
Getting Veggie Ready with Ms. Davie
Serving nearly 900 pre-K through fifth-grade students in a Title I school, Ms. Davie teaches every child in the building each week.
This year, she is bringing food education to her youngest learners in Kindergarten and PreK. Each month, her students meet a new vegetable, like carrots or lettuce, and make a delicious snack in the classroom.
And the “healthy recipes” are actually really fun to make! So far, her students have created Lovely Lettuce with 1-2-3 Vinaigrette, Green Machine Spinach Smoothi, and, this month, Carrots with Honey Mustard Dip.
Ms. Davie knows that it’s the experience that matters the most. “Even if students didn’t like the taste of something, they’d still get excited to compost it. It became part of the learning—and that’s okay! They didn’t feel bad. They were part of something bigger.”
“Kids want classes like this. They want to cook. They want to learn how food grows. And I want to be the person that shows them how.”
Cooking Up Confidence in the Classroom
Students enjoying their creation: Green Machine Spinach Smoothie!
Her classroom is a place where apple chips replace gummy bears, and kids discover the joy of healthy eating.
“Kids don’t know how to eat healthy if they don’t see it. A lot of my students have limited access to fresh food. So, when I see kids get excited about apple oatmeal or ask for strawberry seeds to plant at home, I know it’s working.”
And the impact doesn’t stop at school:
“Even my pre-K kids go home and talk about what we’re doing. Parents pull up in the car line asking for the smoothie recipe! When kids are excited to cook and grow food, they bring that energy home, and that kind of family engagement is everything.”
Ms. Davie discovered Small Bites Adventure Club through a local farm partner and signed up right away. “Anything Small Bites does, I’m in! It rocks! I love Chef Asata, and I really appreciate having access to resources that are ready to go.”
Thank you Ms. Davie & all of our Veggie Ready teachers for going the extra mile to give your students high quality food education!
Pre-K students love exploring the Mystery Bag in their classroom. This is a fun, low-pressure sensory exploration activity to help kids “meet” a new food before they cook with it!
