By Angie Bruder, Garden Educator
How does food get here? Does it just appear in stores? To answer that question, first graders at West Godwin explored the fascinating journey of cornflakes from soil to plate. Students learned that all foods come from nature, and then many foods are trucked to factories for processing and packaging. This journey continues with another truck ride to stores for purchase.
How might travel and processing affect flavor and nutritional value? If food is grown in a local garden, does it have a more direct route to our plates? In thinking about these questions, students noted that a garden is a great place to obtain nutrient-rich, unprocessed foods.
To reinforce the lesson, the children played a fun card game, where each child picked out the sequence of different foods from its origin to a finished dish. A delicious tasting of pumpkin dip was served, and then students were very excited to spend time in the garden winterizing by pulling out last summer’s spent plants so the journey of food from soil to plate can begin again next season.
This project was funded in whole or in part by the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Fitness Foundation. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.