Nutrition education and obesity prevention branch (NEOPB)

Harvest of the Month (HOTM)

Harvest of the Month features ready-to-go tools and resources that can be used in diverse applications to support healthy eating and daily physical activity. These tools and resources can be used in a variety of settings, including in:

schools, daycare, and afterschool programs
retail food stores and farmers' markets
health clinics
food banks
worksites
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) offices
farm-to-fork programs and other venues for agriculture and nutrition education
school and community gardens

Harvest of the Month aims to:

Increase access to fruits and vegetables through school meal programs, farm-to-school programs, classrooms, school gardens, farmers' markets, grocery stores, community gardens, worksites, and other community-based locations.
Increase consumers' preference for fruits and vegetables.
Increase consumption of locally grown food items by connecting growers to their communities through farmers' markets, food retail stores, schools, and food banks, among others.
Increase participation in daily physical activity and an understanding of why it is important to our health.
Expand familiarity with California grown fruits and vegetables, local farmers, the state's rich agricultural bounty, and how food travels from the farm to our plates.