The History of HFHK
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Inspired by a visit to The Edible Schoolyard in California, HFHK founder Thianda Manzara assembles a Planning Committee to begin a school vegetable gardening program in Delaware.”
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HFHK program officially starts at Springer Middle School.”
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HFHK nonprofit organization created, HFHK begins working with the Keene Elementary School as our second partner school.”
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HFHK starts vegetable gardening programs at Douglass Alternative School, Brader, Forest Oak, Marshall , and Stubbs schools.”
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HFHK begins programs at Downes, Brookside, McVey, and West Park Place. HFHK hires its first employee.”
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HFHK expands to Wilson and receives a Healthy People 2020 Community Innovation grant.”
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Partnerships continue to grow. HFHK works with 16 total schools. New schools added are Richardson Park, Palmer, Highlands and Rehoboth. HFHK is the ONLY Delaware recipient of the inaugural USDA/FNS Farm to School Grant.”
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HFHK begins programs at Carrie Downie, Eisenberg and Read Schools in the Colonial SD. HFHK hires first official part-time employees.”
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HFHK begins programs at New Castle ES, Nativity Preparatory School, and Mt Pleasant ES.”
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HFHK begins a program at Forwood ES, creates partnerships with five new schools.”
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HFHK begins programs at Lombardy, Marbrook, Serviam Girls Academy, HB DuPont MS, and Freire Charter School. ”
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HFHK begins programs at Gallaher ES and Odyssey Charter School. Longwood grant awarded.”
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HFHK hires its first Executive Director and expands into Kent and Sussex Counties. Named a winner of the Lt. Governor’s Challenge Leadership Award. ”
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Dr. Manzara officially retires. In 2023 HFHK celebrates 50 partner schools with 21,000+ participating students, and 15 years as a nonprofit.”
Dr. Thianda Manzara grew up in a Greek home where cooking brought family and friends together to share delicious vegetable dishes. She remembers the amazing experience of growing her first garden and how much better those vegetables tasted than the ones bought in a grocery store. These experiences shaped her career as a plant biology professor and researcher.
By the time Dr. Manzara arrived in Delaware, the seeds for Health Foods for Healthy Kids began germinating. She was shocked that obesity was such a problem for kids and set out to address it. Not with a fad diet, a pill, or good intentions. But with a simple approach of true prevention and lasting change informed by science.
It was, and still is, her conviction that one of the best ways to improve diet and health of the typical American is to incorporate more vegetables while maintaining a balanced diet. School garden research studies show that experience in school gardens have greater impact on increasing kids eating vegetables than nutrition education does.
Our STORY
A Passion for Cooking, Gardening and Vegetables Leads to a Revelation
A final obstacle to overcome
In 2003, Dr. Manzara visited the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California. While exploring their use of gardening, a teaching kitchen and related school curriculum, she learned the total cost for one school exceeded $400,000 per year! To bring such a program to Delaware, she had to come up with a more affordable and practical model to create hands-on vegetable gardening experiences for Delaware school children.
And so, she did.
The rest is history.
"We designed the program to have two seed-to-table growing seasons during the school year so every student in a school has the opportunity to grow and eat fresh garden vegetables multiple times. Like me, once kids discover that veggies can be delicious, they will take that habit into adulthood."
- Dr. Thianda Manzara