Boys & Girls Club members learn about nutrition through gardening project with student physicians

Newswise — MOULTRIE, GA – On a fall day after school, members of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Boys & Girls Club gathered around three raised beds behind the Club’s parking lot. The beds were filled with soil and plants. The Club members were learning about growing their own food and nutrition from a group of student physicians from the nearby osteopathic medical college.

Peas, bell pepper and butter crunch lettuce plants filled one of the beds where Boys & Girls Club members took turns using watering cans and spraying neem oil on the plants to keep the pests away. That day three members of PCOM South Georgia’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA) provided directions and asked questions about the afternoon’s nutrition lesson and lessons from previous weeks.

Emeka Ikeakanam (DO ’26), aka “Mr. E” to the students, quizzed the group of Boys & Girls Club members known as the Garden Club.

Their eager responses included words such as cholesterol, fiber, chlorophyll and calcium. Then the Club members asked “Mr. E” plenty of their own questions. Ikeakanam’s fellow SNMA members, Savannah Finley (DO ’26) and Nahimie Louissant (DO ’26), joined in with answers.

Planning for the garden project began in the fall of 2022 with the first planting in the spring of 2023. That first round of the project was so successful that SNMA members decided to continue with a fall 2023 garden.

“This project started from a desire to engage students in learning more about nutrition, and the benefits of healthy food and a healthy lifestyle,” SNMA member Schiley Pierre Louis (DO ’25), said. “It is one thing to know that we should eat healthy food, but it is better when there is a tangible example of what it means and the process that makes it a reality. Moreover, gardening can also teach valuable life lessons that apply beyond gardening.”

SNMA members received funding for the project through the Albert D’Alonzo, DO Endowed Memorial Award, which is presented by PCOM Institutional Advancement.

Setting an example

The Garden Club members look forward to working with the student doctors.

“They have gravitated to PCOM students,” said Joel Jenkins, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Moultrie-Colquitt County. “The kids look forward to seeing what the garden will yield.”

La’Teegra Fiveash, program director of the Boys & Girls Club of Moultrie-Colquitt County, can see the interest in the faces of the Club members every day.

“They get off the bus near the garden,” she said. “They check out the plants as they walk by. They’re just fascinated that they can watch something grow like that. Many of them have never had a garden before working with the PCOM students.”

To get this fall’s garden started, a group of Club members and their parents, and Club staff joined SNMA members one Saturday to plant seeds in the raised beds.

“At the Boys & Girls Club, we are about creating a first experience for the youth,” Fiveash said. “We want the members to get these opportunities.”

Working with the PCOM student doctors has also affected the parents, some of whom started their own backyard gardens. They shared photos of their accomplishments with Fiveash.

The SNMA members are just one of several PCOM student organizations who’ve worked with the Boys & Girls Club. The Club members have a bit of awe when they realize these volunteers are on their way to becoming physicians.

“The first time the PCOM students came in wearing their white coats, it made a great impression for our Club members to see someone who looks like them,” Jenkins said.

Fiveash said, “We’ve had parents tell us about how we’re giving them exposure to someone like them and how we’ve opened their kids’ eyes. Now they know they can go to school and become a doctor.”

The real lesson

With the garden project, Boys & Girls Club members spent a lot of time with the PCOM SNMA students.

Boys & Girls Club members took home vegetables from the garden. As the weather grew cooler, vegetable production decreased but the members’ enthusiasm did not.

On that fall day in November, Tamar Williams, a fourth-grader, laid claim to the single bell pepper that was ready to be picked. She said this project was the first time she had grown vegetables and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I learned that all plants don’t grow as fast as others,” she said. “And I learned that you have to spray this stuff to make sure the plants do not get eaten by bugs.”

Tamar continued, “The part I enjoyed the most was looking and seeing how they grow and fertilizing them.”

Tamar said bell peppers, like the one she held in her hand, were her favorite of the vegetables the garden club grew.

“They’re really healthy for you,” she said. “They can make you very healthy and live longer. If you eat vegetables, they can help you grow longer, and stay alive longer and not die so soon.”

Cameron Williams, a fifth-grader, said he and his mom tried growing vegetables before, but without much success. That was when he discovered that he is not a fan of tomatoes. His favorite vegetable from the garden project was butter crunch lettuce.

“It just sounds good,” he said with a smile. “It reminds me of popcorn. I don’t know why.”

Famiya Ruffin, a fourth-grader, said, “They helped me so much. I learned more things about plants, and I have more experience thanks to Mr. E and Miss Savannah and the others. They’re all sweet and helpful to me. They helped me experience a lot, and I had fun.”

When Melanie Roberts, a fifth-grader, had a school project at school involving plants, she was able to use her knowledge from the garden project. Melanie said she made a 100 on her school project.

“This garden project has been really fun and exciting,” she said. “It has really been neat to learn the new stuff about plants and everything, so it’s been pretty great.”

Tamar said, “I want to say thank you to Mr. E, Miss Savannah and Miss Nahimie for helping us all to grow and use healthy vegetables and teaching us how to plant vegetables. Now we know that if we can’t get any vegetables at the store, then we could just plant our own…I’m really thankful that they actually teach me how to grow plants.”

Making future plans

For the PCOM South Georgia SNMA members, the garden project has also been a great learning experience.

“From this project, I learned that by showing up consistently we can really create a positive atmosphere for the youth to get excited about different topics,” Ikeakanam said. “I didn’t know at first how much they would gravitate towards this project, but seeing the initiative that these students take toward working on the garden and participating in the club encourages me to keep putting in work to make this experience fun and educational.”

Finley said, “My favorite part of the project has been seeing the crops grow and become a source of nutrition and knowledge for the club members. It is very powerful to know where some of your food comes from and be able to grow it yourself, especially considering the impact that food deserts can have on youth in Georgia.”

In addition to growing vegetables, the SNMA members plan to grow the project in the future by adding classes on healthy cooking, buying healthy food on a budget and finances. They would also like to involve the Club members’ parents more in an effort to address food insecurity among children in Moultrie.

“One thing I hope the members take away from this is the inherent enthusiasm for learning about nutrition,” Ikeakanam said. “There are many aspects of nutrition that they are currently learning from us, such as vitamins and minerals, healthy eating and self-sustainability through growing food. However, if the members can retain the motivation to learn about nutrition throughout their lives, that will lead to them living healthier lives and give them the ability to impact others through their own initiatives.”

For some Club members, the garden project could be an inspiration.

“I hope the students will be inspired to grow their own personal gardens someday, be involved in other community gardens, teach others, or even pursue agriculture as a career,” Finley said.

Louis said, “For me, [my favorite part] has been the immense support that I have received from everyone at PCOM and at the Boys & Girls Club. I am thankful for everyone that stepped up to make it a reality,” Louis said. “We have had people available to water, teach nutrition classes, and supervise the crops and their health. I am just eternally grateful to everyone.”

In addition to Ikeakanam, Finley, Louissant and Louis, other SNMA members who worked on the garden project include Terrance Orange (DO ’25), Sara Meawad (DO ’25), Dana Marie-Gould (DO ’25), Nicholas Bohannon (DO ’26), Evan Curry DO ’26), Tyanna McCladdie (DO ’26), Janai Groves (DO ’26), Greg Rasmussen (DO ’26), Ericka Westbrook (DO ’27), Ruhdeep Randhawa (DO ’27) and Alize Berrios (DO ’27).

About PCOM South Georgia

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) extended its commitment to the Southeast by establishing PCOM South Georgia, an additional teaching location in Moultrie, Georgia. PCOM South Georgia offers both a full, four-year medical program leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree and a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences degree. PCOM is a private, not-for-profit institution which trains professionals in the health and behavioral sciences fields. Joining PCOM Georgia in Suwanee in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state, PCOM South Georgia focuses on educating physicians for the South Georgia region. The medical campus, which welcomed its inaugural class of medical students in August 2019, has received accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. For more information, visit pcom.edu/southgeorgia or call 229-668-3110.