⭐ A Kitchen Monk™ Recommended Resource
Food as Medicine. Education as Empowerment. Community as the Path Forward.
Plant Based Nutrition Movement (PBNM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing whole-food, plant-based nutrition education and community health, with a deep commitment to children, families, and communities at greatest risk. Its work includes community education, cooking demonstrations, teaching kitchens, and the 6 Million SEEDS Child Nutrition Project. It is led by President & CEO Meryl Fury, MS, RN, who also leads Plant Based Support.
Why Kitchen Monk recommends PBNM: it brings together prevention, nutrition literacy, accessible education, child health, community health, Food as Medicine, health equity, and practical implementation, the same values at the heart of Kitchen Monk.
🌱 Planting 6 Million SEEDS
PLANT THE SEED. CULTIVATE FLOURISHING.
What if every child grew up knowing that food, movement, rest, relationships, community, and compassion all help them flourish?
The 6 Million SEEDS Child Nutrition Project, founded by Meryl Fury, asks one of public health’s most important questions: what are we feeding our children? SEEDS stands for Students Educated in Environment, Diet, and Sustainability. The project brings whole plant foods and evidence-based nutrition education to students, teachers, classroom parents, and school food professionals.
Why “6 Million”? Meryl explains that a million is the smallest power of ten needed to tip the scales in favor of children’s health, and that the “6” stands for six plant food groups.
🌻 The Six Plant Food Garden Beds
A family-friendly way to explore the six plant food groups together.
| Garden bed | Food group | Try naming… |
|---|---|---|
| 🍎 Apple Tree | Fruits | berries, apples, bananas, oranges |
| 🥕 Carrot Patch | Vegetables | carrots, greens, peppers, sweet potatoes |
| 🌾 Oat Field | Whole grains | oats, brown rice, corn, whole-wheat bread |
| 🌻 Sunflower | Nuts & seeds | sunflower seeds, walnuts, flax, nut butters |
| 🫘 Bean Vine | Legumes | black beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas, tofu |
| 🍄 Forest Floor | Mushrooms | button, shiitake, portobello |
For parents and caregivers: this is education, not a prescription. Whole nuts and some foods can be choking hazards for young children, and some children have allergies, medical conditions, feeding or swallowing differences, or special needs. Growing children following a plant-based pattern need enough energy, protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, iodine, zinc, and omega-3 fats, in textures right for their age. Please involve your child’s pediatric clinician or a registered dietitian, and never put a child on a weight-loss diet or restrict food groups without professional guidance.
🎙 Growing a Healthy Child Podcast
Launched in January 2022 and hosted by Meryl Fury, MS, RN, this podcast reaches the adults who make decisions about feeding children: parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. It is available on major podcast apps.
Especially helpful for: 👪 parents · 🍎 educators · 🩺 nurses · 👩⚕️ clinicians · 🏫 school leaders · 🏘 community organizations
🐺 Flourishing Guardians × 6 Million SEEDS
Kitchen Monk sees deep alignment between our Flourishing Guardians™ and the child-health mission of 6 Million SEEDS. Flourishing Guardians teaches children that health includes nourishing food, movement, rest, mindfulness, relationships, purpose, community, and caring for the earth. 6 Million SEEDS is a real-world example of child-focused nutrition education, and we encourage families and educators to explore it. (The two are independent; no formal partnership exists.)
Seed → roots → nourishment → growth → canopy → the next generation.
Every child is a whole person full of possibility. The seed is our promise to offer opportunity, education, care, and room to grow.
From Nutrition Education to the Lunch Tray
Education alone is not enough if the environment keeps making healthy choices hard. School recipes, budgets, procurement, food-service training, kitchen capacity, culture, taste, student acceptance, and family communication all matter. That systems view, noticing what actually keeps a plan from working, is classic nursing leadership, and it is what makes child-nutrition work like Meryl’s so valuable.
Independent recommendation. Kitchen Monk™ recommends Plant Based Nutrition Movement and 6 Million SEEDS. This does not imply that PBNM, 6 Million SEEDS, or Meryl Fury endorse, sponsor, or are affiliated with Kitchen Monk or Flourishing Guardians™. Program details are set by PBNM and may change. General education only, not individualized medical or pediatric care. Information last reviewed: September 2026.
