POP Club: Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies Just Got Easier

We’ve all been there: It’s dinner time and your child has eaten most of their food with one glaring exception, the veggies. While some kids will happily crunch down veggies with the allure of a little dip or a few strategically placed toothpicks, for others, veggies can be a tough sell.

If you have a veggie-reluctant kid, be sure to head to the Phinney Neighborhood Farmers Market this summer and check out the Power of Produce (POP) Club. Designed to make trying and eating veggies fun, the POP Club is a kid-focused program created by the National Farmers Market Coalition. Utilizing delicious seasonal fruits and veggies, kids are encouraged to try new foods at weekly tastings and participate in hands-on activities. At the heart of the program is the “Two-Bite Club,” which invites kids to try two bites of a featured fruit or vegetable, and if they do, they earn $2 in Farm Bucks, which they can spend on produce at the market.

Last year POP Club was offered for six weeks at the Phinney Neighborhood Farmers Market. It was such a hit that it will be back for the entire 17-week season this year, starting June 6.

“We got a lot of positive feedback from parents and kids last year, and a lot of requests to do POP Club again this year,” said Katherine Boury, the director of communications and development for Neighborhood Farmers Markets. “Since the market is Friday evenings, some kids even started coming every week right after school, as part of their Friday afternoon routine.”

Boury said that POP Club is intended to build healthy habits in a few different ways. In addition to encouraging kids to try healthy foods and learn about the benefits of fruits and vegetables, it also empowers them to start making their own eating decisions. Every week kids participating in the program can earn Farm Bucks to spend at the market. Boury said one of her favorite experiences last summer was “seeing a 4-year-old take two bites of a cucumber, to the astonishment of his parents, to get his $2 in Farm Buck market currency!”

POP Club participants also get the opportunity to meet some of the farmers, helping to deepen their connection with food and their understanding of where it comes from. The produce used for the POP Club program comes directly from the market. “During set-up, we walk the market to see what’s available or newly in season, and decide on a fruit or veggie for that day’s tasting,” said Boury. “We purchase the produce directly from the farm. Often, farmers choose to donate the produce to POP Club, which just goes to show how generous our farmer community is!”

For the 2025 season, you’ll find some new activities at POP Club, including making market sandwiches, veggie crowns and dirt babies, which are similar to a homemade Chia Pet. (A nylon stocking or sock is filled with soil and grass seeds, shaped into a round head and decorated with eyes and other features. When it’s watered, grass grows on top like hair. Cute!) Other special events this year include the chance to meet the Neighborhood Cheese Lady and her cow Gwendolyn (who is great around kids) on June 6, and the always popular zucchini races on Aug. 1.

You can find POP Club at the Phinney Farmers Market, which runs Fridays, June 6–Sept. 26, 2025, from 3–7 p.m.