FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker and officials from the United States Conference of Mayors and the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America (ABFHA) joined area youth on Friday at Johnnie Mae Farm to kick off the new Plant, Pick & Plate program.
“It’s exciting to see all this activity at Johnnie Mae Farm and watch our youth get their hands dirty in the garden and learn the joy of growing and cooking healthy foods,” said Mayor Tucker. “I’m grateful to all our partners for investing in the health and wellness of Fort Wayne’s young people.”
The City released the following:
The program is designed for fifth to ninth grade students and offers a two-pronged approach to combating childhood obesity by empowering youth to become environmentally conscious leaders through hands-on gardening education and cooking classes at Johnnie Mae Farm, 2518 Winter St. The program is a collaboration between the City’s Community Development Division, Purdue Extension – Allen County, SEED Fort Wayne and Inspired Nutrition.
In January, the U.S. Conference of Mayors named Fort Wayne the first-place winner of the 2025 Childhood Obesity Prevention & Environmental Health & Sustainability Awards for the Plant, Pick & Plate program. The award provides funding from the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America to support health and sustainability programs.
“America’s beverage companies are proud to support Fort Wayne and Mayor Sharon Tucker in their efforts to promote health and sustainability across the city. The Plant, Pick & Plate program shows the power of community-driven solutions,” said Kevin Keane, president and CEO of American Beverage and president of the ABFHA board of directors. “From investing in local programs to creating good-paying jobs across Indiana, our industry remains committed to helping mayors strengthen and uplift their communities.”
“We’re so proud to be able to support these types of programs that place the tools and strategies for meaningful, lasting change directly in the hands of the young people who are most impacted by them,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director of The United States Conference of Mayors. “In partnership with the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America, we congratulate Mayor Tucker and the entire City of Fort Wayne on their award and look forward to learning how their work might serve as a model for and be replicated in cities across the country.”
In addition to the gardening and cooking classes, participating youth will be enrolled in 4H and have access to 4H programming. They will also receive take-home recipe booklets and cooking kits and can earn gift cards to nearby Pontiac Street Market, 918 E. Pontiac St., where they can purchase recipe ingredients to cook at home with their families.
Parents/guardians and interested students are welcome to attend. For more, click HERE
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