Shanahan Middle School, in the heart of Ohio, is the setting for raised garden beds, an outdoor classroom, and a sizable greenhouse. On two separate occssions, I have planned and implemented two school-wide wellness initiatives. The focus of the wellness initiatives have been to empower students to choose real food over processed foods through garden-based learning. Each month, during a specified time, every student was engaged in identifying the ingredients in processed foods and the possible harmful health effects of artificial ingredients, colorings, and perservatives.