Globally diet patterns have shown a decline in the quantities of vegetables consumed with low amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables available. Regionally the decline in the use of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) by many rural communities over the years has resulted in poor diets and increased incidence of nutritional deficiency disorders and diseases. In Kenya, at least 33% of children are anemic, and a large number of school children cannot enjoy their right to nutrition. Academic literature suggests that the fruit and vegetable intake of adolescents is below the recommended intake and that the school environment can provide an interactive environment with the potential to increase nutritional knowledge and change the attitude of the students towards vegetable intake. This study was designed to assess high school students’ nutritional knowledge, attitude, consumption and production practices of African Indigenous Vegetables. The study included 100 students from 5 high schools. 24-hour recalls and food frequency questionnaires were used to collect information on vegetable consumption. Focus group discussions were conducted and Questionnaires were also administered. A total of 99 participants completed the study with an age range of 13-15 years. Majority of the participants 69% had never received nutritional education on importance of indigenous vegetables. There was a positive attitude that reflected in increased consumption of indigenous vegetables, Cowpea was the most consumed (97%) while spider plant was the least consumed indigenous vegetable. The major barriers to indigenous vegetable consumption included limited recipes 23.2%, lack of cooking skills 19.2%, prices 19%, 16.2% family influence. On production, main barriers were limited land, overdependence on rain fed agriculture and poor seed quality. The perceptions towards indigenous vegetables by adolescents were positive. However, school gardening and other interventions should be implemented in more schools and the aspect of gender differences in cooking skills should be addressed, generally adolescent nutrition is still an area in need of more research.

Introduction Malnutrition affects human health, resources, well-being, and similarly leads to substantial reduction of national and regional economic sW capacity, increase in school absenteeism and huge healthcare expenses (World Bank, 2006). WHO (2003) and FAO (2003), set the minimum vegetable and fruit intake per person per day at 400 grams. However, according to FAO food balance sheets, Kenya does not produce enough vegetable and fruits for her population despite having a suitable environment, only about 280 grams per capita per day of fruits and vegetables are available for human consumption (FAO, 2009). On average, the levels of iron, calcium, and vitamins contained in 100g of fresh indigenous vegetables is enough to provide 100 % of each nutrient required daily and 40 % of proteins (Abukutsa, 2010 and Herforth, 2010). Despite the potential of indigenous vegetables to address micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition, production and consumption is still low. School-based garden interventions studies have shown improved, knowledge, attitude and intake of healthy food choices, but with most programs have targeting preschool children and lower primary school going children, the secondary school students are left out missing on the benefits likely to be achieved by this intervention (Hutchinson et al., 2015). 1.1. Overview of School Gardening and Nutrition Benefits of Indigenous Vegetables School garden programs refer to the kind of community gardens operated in the school setting with the aim of promoting social networks, relationships, and connectedness among students. Studies have indicated that an experience with nature improves students' cognitive levels; attention, performance and creates environmental awareness ((Mårtensson et al., 2009) and (Collado et al., 2013). The benefits linked with high intake of vegetables and fruits are improved health and minimized risk of noncommunicable disease for all ages in the society (Heim, Stang & Ireland, 2009). A study conducted in Kiambu, Kenya investigating the mineral and nutrition content of indigenous vegetables showed that they contain significant amounts of protein, sodium, iron and potassium and thus can reduce micronutrient and other nutrition deficiencies (Dushimama et al,