The Power of Produce (POP) Club is coming back to the Cotton Mill Farmers’ Market in Carrollton. 
Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well is kicking off the POP Club on Saturday, May 12, from 9 to 11 a.m. After the kickoff, the club will be held on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 9 to 11 a.m. The club’s last day of the season will be Sept. 15.
The POP Club is a free program that empowers kids ages 4 to 12 to make healthy food choices.
“The Power of Produce Club provides the opportunity for kids to not only learn where their food comes from, but to explore a variety of different fruits and vegetables,” said Tiffany Landry, nutrition program coordinator at Get Healthy, Live Well.
Get Healthy, Live Well teamed up with the Cotton Mill Farmers’ Market and volunteer Caron Connelly to launch the POP Club in 2015.
“We’re elated to work with Tanner Health System on such an important community endeavor,” said Chris McDowell, communication manager at the Cotton Mill Farmers’ Market. “We get to plant the mental seeds of healthy eating habits early in children’s lives. That’s fantastic. It’s exciting to provide families local, fresh food and have fun doing it.”
The POP Club gives children a chance to engage in the local food system through fun learning activities. Each week there is a different activity in which kids can participate, like making kale chips, potato pets and zucchini race cars. There will also be cooking demonstrations on the third Saturday of each month.
After participating in activities, each child receives $2 in POP Bucks to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market.
The POP Club is one of several initiatives funded by a nearly $400,000 grant that Get Healthy, Live Well received from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program (CFPCGP), administered by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), is helping to make it easier to find healthy, nutritious food in west Georgia. The CFPCGP provides funding to organizations so they can develop local solutions to food security and increase access to healthy food for low-income communities.
To learn more about the Cotton Mill Farmers’ Market, visit cottonmillfarmersmarket.org. For more information about Get Healthy, Live Well and the POP Club, visit GetHealthyLiveWell.org or email gethealthy@tanner.org.