Healthy Summer Harvest Program

For two weeks in July, Chef Guy Koppe from Project Bread, visited two Somerville Schools as part of the Healthy Summer Harvest Program. This collaborative program among Project Bread, Mass Farm to School and the Somerville Farm to School Project focused on eating different plant parts. Did you know that broccoli is a flower and asparagus is a stem? Now you do and so do 94 students from the Somerville Public Schools!

Guy Koppe demonstrating knife skills

Each lesson built on topics from the previous day. Some had the students identifying plant parts or discussing Lois Elhert’s Growing Vegetable Soup. One day they even planted cucumber seeds to take home with them. They also learned about MyPlate and make sure they are eating foods from each of the food groups.

Identifying parts of the plant and what plants need to grow

Each cup holds a single cucumber seed for the students to take home.

Each day’s lesson and recipe highlighted a different fruit or vegetable: carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches! Students had the chance to try these familiar fruits and vegetables in unique combinations. Day one featured a Moroccan Carrot Salad, pairing carrots and apples in a sweet and sour dressing. The week culminated with students making homemade ice cream in freezer bags (recipe coming soon!). Of course, the ice cream was topped with yummy, seasonal peaches. Everything was fresh and delicious!

Guy showed the students all each ingredient as he added it to the bowl.

All you need is a chip to enjoy your salsa!

Every student who tried the recipe received an “I Tried It!” sticker and was entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to the Union Square Farmers’ Market in Somerville. The students were also given two recipes each day to share with their families.

Materials provided by Mass Farm to School and Project Bread

Ninety-four students participated in the program, 78 from a Kindergarten Transition Program at the Capuano Early Education Center and 16 from Special Education Programs at the Capuano and Kennedy Schools. Not surprisingly the ice cream with fresh peaches was the most tried and liked recipe. That being said, we are very proud of all the students for trying so many fruits and vegetables they had never eaten before.

By the end of the week, more than a few students were saying they wanted to be chefs when they grew up!

Content provided by Karyn Novakowski, Somerville Farm to School Project Director

Comments

Put your best FORK forward during National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month! Each year the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics develops new topics to celebrate National Nutrition Month. This year's theme, Put your best fork forward, encourages us to consider that every bite counts. Even "small shifts in our food choices, can add up over time." Here in Somerville we are celebrating National Nutrition Month in a few ways. ~ We are releasing Veggie of the Month kits in each school's library! The kits contain books, taste testing supplies, and a binder with lesson materials for each month! ~ We are visiting a few PreK-2nd grade classes to "taste-test" the veggie of the month: leafy greens! In the classroom, we are reading Sylvia's Spinach and making a simple salad dressing to drizzle over spinach! (Be sure to check back later for the results of our visits!) ~ Our Wellness Champions and Farm to School Staff are posting bulletin boards and fliers around the schools!

Farm to School Month Kickoff - Corn Shucking Day 2015

It's October and that means Farm to School Month! We have a busy month of real food activities planned from Salad Bar Day coming up on Thursday, October 8 to School Garden week. We kicked off our celebration with our annual Corn Shucking event. Three thousand ears of corn were shucked during an intense 30 minute time frame. Corn was sourced through our produce vendor, Russo's and grown at Taveres Farm in South Dartmouth, MA. With hands and husks flying, students, staff, community partners and parents all helped to get the job done quickly. At the Capuano Early Childhood Center, our youngest students took their jobs very seriously. Some peeling on piece at a time. Over at the Brown School, the chilly weather didn't deter the volunteers and students from shucking outside. Even our leaders, Superintendent Mary Skipper and Assistant Superintendent Vince McKay lent a hand at the East Somerville Community School. At each school,

Mindful Eating: Part 1

In order to digest your food properly, your body must be in parasympathetic mode, or in a state of non-stress. Kindergartners know this. Well, they might not know the scientific term yet, but during lunch they participate in 6 minutes of silence; a period they call "Mindful Eating". When asked why they like mindful eating, the children replied, because "it’s quiet”, “I can enjoy my food better”, “I get peace and quiet”, and "it’s calmly”. Kindergartener teacher Ms. Scrima, and other Kennedy School teachers have been implementing mindfulness in the cafeteria and their classrooms since last year. They are proud to have a lunch period that looks and sounds quite different from the chaotic cafeteria rush other classes often experience. While the students sit silently at the lunch table checking in with their emotions, their digestive systems are also benefitting. Physiologically, only when our bodies are in rest mode can the brain trigger the release of digestive

Somerville Farm to School Project

Search This Blog