The Lighthouse in North Philadelphia, kicked off its "Eat Right, Move Right" campaign with a rooftop garden to give kids access to healthier foods.

Located at its main headquarters on 152 West Lehigh Avenue, the community center, which offers educational and economic improvement programs for families who need resources, held an opening ceremony for garden on Tuesday, April 17. 

"If I had this program when I was little, I probably would have appreciated food more and eaten healthier," James Whitaker, youth development specialist and farmer said.

"The concept was to let little children know that food comes from the dirt, not the supermarket, they can get healthier foods from their backyards. The food harvested from the garden will be cooked and prepared in lunchroom for the kids to eat," he added. 

In addition to the rooftop garden, Lighthouse, in partnership with the Federation of Neighborhood Centers, will operate a youth urban farm program, called "Teens 4 Good," where adolescents will visit a farm at the Lighthouse Field Complex and learn about the process of growing food. 

"Produce grown at the farm will be used in breakfasts and lunches that we provide everyday to over 400 children," John Lavery, executive director of the Lighthouse said. 

The opening ceremony started a campaign that has been in development for months. On March 19, The Lighthouse and Aramark collaborated for Global Volunteer Day, in an effort to fight childhood obesity by renovating food pantries and offering nutritional education and awareness. 

"No matter what age you are, eating healthy is prevalent to everybody's lifestyle nowadays. Teaching them at young age really helps them grow and makes sure they're going down the right path, because your health comes first," said James Harrison, executive chef for Lincoln Financial Field.