Adolescent Health Services

Adolescent Health

Camp FRESH

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Camp Fresh 2012 Application Packet

Community Health

Camp FRESH

Camp FRESH is a program designed to empower Wilmington youth to become agents of change within their communities, improving health and quality of life by improving access to quality foods. By becoming ambassadors for good nutrition and healthy lifestyles, the Camp FRESH teens hope to give their families and neighbors the tools to build a healthier lifestyle.

Bringing healthy foods to a nutritional wasteland

In inner cities across the nation, residents often suffer from a lack of access to healthy foods, especially fresh produce. Many neighborhoods rely on the corner grocery store for their staple foods, and these small stores often lack the fresh fruits and vegetables that are the foundation of a healthy diet. While obesity has been identified as a serious national health problem, many families who would like to improve their health by eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day are stranded, often without access to transportation, unable to reach the suburban supermarkets that many Americans take for granted.

In 2007, 37 youth from five urban neighborhoods in Wilmington, Del., enrolled in Camp FRESH at Christiana Care's Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute and learned how to become advocates for improving the health environment in their city. They surveyed more than 420 Wilmington residents to find out what affects their decisions about eating healthy and being physically active.

"Since I was about 12, I realized I wasn't eating well, and I really liked junk food," said Camp FRESH teen Elenora Farrell. "At Camp FRESH I learned a lot about how to replace junk food with healthy food. I even lost 16 pounds by just changing my eating habits." Elenora also influenced how her family eats and exercises. "Now, my whole family is getting healthy," she said. "We eat differently now—as healthy as we can. We also talk more about what we eat. When my mom goes shopping, she buys fresh fruits. And we do our best to take a walk every day."

The Camp FRESH teens also went into 24 Wilmington corner groceries, small stores, local markets and supermarkets to take a brief inventory of what healthy items were available and how much these items cost. They verified that a lack of access to nutritious foods was a serious obstacle to healthy eating habits in their communities, and they urged local store owners to stock more fresh fruits and vegetables.

They asked Wilmington residents what they would like to see happen to change their current scenario, and a majority supported an increase in the number of community produce gardens and better access to farmers' markets. This spurred the addition of the Camp FRESH farmers market and community garden in 2008.

Now, each year, new recruits join with teens returning from the previous year and community partners to build on the program and work in the Camp FRESH garden and farmers' markets. The teens also meet at Christiana Care's Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute for educational lessons related to improving their health and the health of their community. Topics include health advocacy, nutrition, weight management, sexual health, drug and alcohol education, community organizing, communication and planning for the future.

Camp FRESH Community Garden & Farmers' Market

Fresh vegetables, from the farm to your neighborhood. Shop for fresh fruits and vegetables and enjoy free demonstrations and information about healthy eating and healthy cooking. The Camp FRESH farmers' markets are open to the public from June through August.

For information about Camp FRESH or the Camp FRESH Community Garden & Farmer's Market, call 302-428-6525.