Tag: farm

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Students Go Whole Hog with Farm-to-Cafeteria Cooking | Civil Eats

Beth Kelley

A few schools are adopting a more hands-on way of teaching about food, animal care, and science, which is actually an older technique: farm animals.

Most recently, slow roasting pork tenderloin was part of a homework assignment for a Bend, OR, high school culinary class. And the source of their pork? Mountain View High School, less than a mile away, where FFA formerly known as Future Farmers of America students are raising pigs.

These classes are complementary components of an integrated farm to school program at Bend-LaPine School District, where 29 schools serve more than 16,000 students. Bend-LaPine has students raising animals, butchering animals, and feeding a school meal program. Neatly wrapped packages of pork move from classroom to school kitchen, where they are cooked into succulent carnitas for all 29 school cafeterias.

The program breaks the normal bounds of food in school and has created a whole new arena for students to learn. “It’s a full circle agriculture education experience,” says Katrina Wiest, the manager for the Bend farmers’ market and wellness specialist for the school district.

“Agriculture is a big part of my life,” says Wiest, who was raised on a wheat farm and is married to a farmer. “I feel it’s important that kids know where their food comes from.”

For close to ten years, Wiest has been pioneering the farm to school movement in the high desert of central Oregon: sourcing local food for schools and providing agriculture, health, and nutrition education opportunities in the cafeteria, classroom, and community.

more via Students Go Whole Hog with Farm-to-Cafeteria Cooking | Civil Eats.

I think this is an awesome idea! It’s a great hands-on learning opportunity for kids. A lot of schools have shied away from having animals on or near campus, or having kids even deal with animals, due to safety and health concerns. But how else and where else are kids going to learn about being safe around animals, or safety and caring for the animals themselves, unless they get somewhat structured guidance like this? Most kids don’t have a friendly farmer they can go visit and mess with their livestock on a regular basis.

But more importantly, it is a very hands-on, real-time way of letting kids work on something and seeing the results of their labor, whether it’s a happy pig or a delicious plate of carnitas, while also letting them experience delayed gratification (it takes hard work and a long time to grow a pig). It teaches kids how food is made, which is important when making food decisions. Plus, it can be very therapeutic to pet a pig.

Where I grew up was fairly rural, and yet the 4H/FFA program was still seen as a weird club that involved a lot of horse-showing. I am glad to see it getting integrated more into school programs.

behavior · children · community · environment · family · learning · Nature

7 Creative Ways to Experience your Local Farm this Spring | Inhabitots

Beth Kelley
A pastoral farm scene near Traverse City, Mich...
Image via Wikipedia

Where I grew up and where I live now, though focusing on very different kinds of agriculture, were both very farm-focused communities, and I always encourage people to  go out and see what a working farm is all about. It is a great way to learn about where your food comes from, different jobs, and all about nature.

Beyond simply stopping by to view the animals at your local farm, there are many other hands-on and creative activities you can do with your family — and the spring is a great time to go. Visiting your local farm during the spring comes complete with baby animals, plus the weather is warming up and it’s the perfect opportunity for outdoor learning time with your children. To get the most out of your springtime visit to the farm, you’ll want to explore it with a different lens and look at your local farm as more than just a place that keeps animals and agriculture. Read on to learn seven creative ways to experience your local farm this spring with your family.

more via 7 Creative Ways to Experience your Local Farm this Spring | Inhabitots.

community · culture · education · environment · health · Nature

Urban farming in NYC

Beth Kelley2 Comments

Just read about this cool example of urban farming: Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in good ol’ New York City.

From the site:

On the shoreline of the East River and with a sweeping view of the Manhattan skyline, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is a 6,000 square foot green roof organic vegetable farm located atop a warehouse rooftop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.During New York City’s growing season, the farmers at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm supply a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, an onsite farm market, and bicycle fresh produce to area restaurants.

In partnership with food education organization Growing Chefs, the rooftop farm hosts a range of farm-based educational and volunteer programs.

 

Eagle Street Rooftop Farm offers educational programming in partnership with Growing Chefs: Food Education from Field to Fork.

 

 

They also offer talks, events (today was their annual pie eating contest!), and other ways to engage with urban farming. If you live anywhere near there, go check it out; it is amazing to see a true working farm in action, and to see it done in an urban environment is really exciting. Although, you might want to wait until the weather isn’t, you know, freezing!, to go visit:

The Farm is a bit windy & chilly this time of year, so we’re waiting ’til spring for visits.  To register for a workshop, contact us Education@RooftopFarms.org.

What a great way to learn about where your food comes from, and it’s healthier and fresher since it doesn’t have to travel as far or receive so many pesticides or preservatives for transport. And apparently these urban farms are now popping up all over the United States; check out some of the links below to read about other city’s urban farms. Eat up!

 

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behavior · community · education · environment · school

Mountain View to offer Ferndale Fries as pilot farm-to-school program – Local News – bellinghamherald.com

Beth Kelley

Where I live is incredibly fertile farmland, with lots of kids having to get up to milk cows, feed chickens, and so on before they catch the bus to school. It’s nice to see that connection to the land follow them into the classroom, and teach their classmates where their food comes from:

Mountain View to offer Ferndale Fries as pilot farm-to-school program – Local News – bellinghamherald.com.

Students at Ferndale’s Mountain View Elementary School will soon be treated to freshly baked potatoes from northwest Washington as part of their school lunch.

On Jan. 27, the french fries and tater tots at the school are being exchanged for locally grown potato wedges, as part of a pilot farm-to-school project.

“This is something that’s good for the students and it’s good for the local farmers,” said Alex Singer, Ferndale School District’s Food Program director. “We have students who may not have ever had french fries that weren’t frozen before.”