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Joy of gardening: a hospital-based cooking and gardening program. BACKGROUND: Nutrition interventions aid in implementing healthy eating. Garden-enhanced nutrition intervention programs have been conducted in schools. We sought to assess feasibility of a hospital-based cooking and gardening program. METHODS: The cohort study implemented a 3-week integrated cooking and gardening program in the United States (Seattle, WA). We recruited participants with ages 8-15 years from ambulatory clinics. We conducted three 3-week series hospital-based cooking and gardening program. Children and parents were given pre- and post-program (1 year) surveys. The surveys assessed child participation in food preparation and gardening, strengths and weaknesses of the program, and identified parents' opinions towards sustaining healthy behaviors. RESULTS: Eighteen children participated in the hospital-based cooking and gardening program. At 1-year follow-up, 78% of participants were gardening at home and 100% of participants were cooking at home. CONCLUSIONS: Novel approaches to combat obesity are needed. A hospital-based cooking and gardening program is a novel intervention to consider for nutrition education.