There’s no better way to learn where our food comes from than to sink our hands in the soil. To help plant seeds and patiently await sprouts to spring from the earth. To pull weeds and dig for the friendly worms that amend our soil. To watch yard trimmings and table scraps turn into luscious compost. To hide and play in cornstalks and sneak sweet raspberries from the canes. To dig up potatoes and eat fresh peas right off the vine. To work together as a family to cultivate the food that will become future meals.
Research shows that there are many benefits for children who work in the garden. Much like helping to cook food, it’s been found that kids are more likely to eat vegetables they’ve helped grow and in general, kids who help in the garden have more positive attitudes towards eating fruits and vegetables. It’s also been found when kids spend time in the garden their appreciation for nature and the environment improves and that they're more likely to become adults who garden and grow their own food.
At ACME Farms + Kitchen we want to help more kids have the experience of gardening so this week we’ll be donating proceeds from the sale of our Pi Day Pie Kits. For each kit sold we’ll donate $5 of the sale to one of the organizations below. Please take some time to read more about these important organizations.
(For Bellingham and Seattle area customers orders are due by 10am on Monday, 7th. For Portland customers orders are due by midnight, Sunday 6th. Visit our SHOP page to order.)
Students enjoy Cooking in the Classroom with Common Threads Farm. Photo courtesy of Common Threads Farm.
Common Threads Farm is a Bellingham based non-profit that works with schools throughout the area to plan and grow vegetable gardens as an educational opportunity for students. The aim of Common Threads is to help raise kids who know how to grow, prepare and eat healthy food. Their School Garden Program offers a class room educator, a mobile cooking cart (because eating what you’ve grown is the best part), and coordination of donated gardening materials including seeds, starts, compost, and wood chips. If your child’s school doesn’t already have an educational garden, we encourage you to take a look at Common Threads resources and to make a connection with your school. Help all kids have the opportunity to learn how good food grows. https://commonthreadsfarm.org
Harvesting at Sauvie Island Center. Photo courtesy of Sauvie Island Cener
Sauvie Island Center works to educate elementary aged school children in the Portland area about food, farming, and the environment. Field trips to Sauvie Island Organic farm and Howell Territorial Park are the perfect educational adventure. Kids learn about healthy soil, do plant part investigations, inspect the landscape for wildlife foraging, and learn about the critical role pollinators play in our food system. Students also get to plant, tend, harvest, and eat veggies from the Grow Lunch Garden. Contact the Center to schedule a field trip or check their website for summer camp opportunities. http://www.sauvieislandcenter.or
Seattle Tilth program participants. Photo courtesy of Seattle Tilth.
Seattle Tilth offers garden and farm education for kids and teens. Through garden and farm tours, a mobile garden classroom, and summer camps young people discover where food comes from. Seattle Tilth’s programs give kids the opportunity to taste fresh vegetables straight from the garden or farm, tend and harvest crops, collect seeds, make compost, learn about worms, insects and other pollinators, and explore our natural environment in hands-on science based learning. Check their website for details on bringing hands-on experiences to the classroom and for summertime camps, tours and classes for kids of all ages. http://www.seattletilth.org/learn/kids/kids-and-families