From Field to Fork

We have had so much fun this month heading up north to Brighton, CO for Jr. Farmer Days. Berry Patch Farms hosts children ages 6-8 years old to participate in the three week program. The first week the kids learned about farming equipment and rode on a tractor to plant sunflower seedlings. We brought home our own seeds and now have new sprouts in the backyard. Last week they learned all about weather and farming. They used cloud spotters to see if rain was on the way, and learned how farmers handle hail storms and cool late summer weather. This week the kids went into the fields to harvest vegetables and then they cleaned, chopped and cooked yummy pasta, rice, salad, and soup for everyone to enjoy.
While Hailey is at her class, Hanna and I spend time picking flowers, berries, fresh basil, carrots, currants, whatever is ready to come in. They have a great produce stand in the barn with so many fresh vegetables, jams, honey from their hives, etc. I am so grateful to have found this great opportunity. I think it is so important for children to understand that there is so much more to our food than heading off to the grocery store. It is a true labor of love that gets the food from the field to the fork. And it was so great to see my girls trying new veggies like zucchini, beets and squash. God has given us a miracle in our land and I hope to pass along a love for "harvest" to my children. There is so much to learn from weather, and planting season, and then waiting patiently for those tomatoes to come up in July and August, instead of having them trucked in from California, or even South America where they have lost all of their flavor during the miles in a freezer. Besides, thinking about all of the money spent on the fuel to get those "fresh" tomatoes to us in December is a bit unbelievable. We are certainly making new efforts to support our local farmers at farmers markets and buy local to reduce the unnecessary burning of fossil fuels. Enough of my soap box though. If you are really interested, go read Barbara Kingsolvers book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It's an eye opener. If not for you, but for your children.