A Food Experience- The Food Literacy Project

Are you missing out on awesome programs in your community? Well, apparently I have been. This weekend I learned about an awesome program - The Food Literacy Project - My husband and I spent the morning volunteering in their garden. They have been around for six years and according to a staff members, have a thriving school field trip program.

The opportunities that the Project provides is for the "next generation" to get their hands dirty and learn about healthy foods - from planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and eating. In addition, they have specific programs to learn about things like composting and the benefits of worms. The five senses garden and educational program is very cool, as they use herbs like fennel and rosemary with various textures and smells - to entice the young ones.

In the world of concrete, hand-sanitizer and nutritionally lacking food, programs such as these are imperative for the "next generation" to learn about "real" food and connect with the earth.  However, it is not just about them, there are plenty of adults with much to learn about healthy food as well.  Most of us city dwellers have a learning curve when it comes to gardening. And as we set out to  include more vegetables in our cooking repertoire we are bound to come across the unknown and unfamiliar like - Kohlrabi and Daikon Radish. Graduating beyond potatoes and corn is very exciting!

Garden and Rain Barrel Shed

The focus on sustainability was also very impressive. The garden has a rain catcher shed which fills four rain barrels used to water the garden.

Barn and Mulch Pile

The mulch used for the garden is from trees on the property that have been chipped. The mulch was very rich with lots of crawling critters.

Outdoor Kitchen

 

My favorite feature was the outdoor kitchen! The kitchen is used to prepare foods like salads and pizzas with only ingredients harvested from the farm.

You can schedule a visit, participate in the Family Programs, or volunteer. I definitely recommend taking the time to check them out and bring a little one if you can.