Field Trips
Thursday, March 21st
An Inside Look at Local Food Distribution with Marty's Local
Join us for a tour of Marty's Local, a wholesale distributor of local foods, in South Deerfield, MA. Founder Nick Martinelli and Sandra Thomas, Director of Marketing, will offer a tour of the facility and share insights on their work with over 100 regional farms and food producers. Enjoy samples from local producers and ask them questions about sourcing ingredients for locally-inspired school meals.
Ground Up Grain & Bakery Workshop Tour
Take a guided tour of Ground Up Grain Mill and get a close look at the process of milling local Northeast grains into fresh flour on a traditional stone mill. Participants will have a chance to see the hydroelectric power that is used at the mill and witness why Holyoke was built at the bend in the CT River, learn about the grain delivery system, chat with our miller to learn about the process of milling grain to make flour and the primary grains we use for milling, why we use them, as well as sensory/tactile exploration of the different grains. The tour also includes a visit to our bakery workshop to sample delicious baked goods made with our fresh flour, all within our hydroelectric-powered facility in Holyoke, MA.
Outdoor Education with the Youngest Learners at Mass Audubon Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary
Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary is home to the second oldest nature preschool in New England and provides environmental education to all ages. For more than a decade, Arcadia has provided education on climate change through both classroom programs and field trips. Participants will visit the sanctuary and take a mile long walk to learn how we address climate change through education. The walk will include visiting solar arrays, looking at habitats and the plants and wildlife that may be changing as the climate changes. After the walk we will meet with preschool staff to learn how our outdoor preschool incorporates sustainability and environmental protection into our everyday curriculum. If conditions are right, we will visit a tapped Maple tree, and make a preschool craft focusing on maple sugaring.
Springfield Public Schools Culinary Nutrition Center
What does it take to build a school food program that integrates local food, scratch cooking, student cooking/mentoring, family engagement? Opened in 2019, Springfield’s Culinary Nutrition Center addresses the goals of improving the quality of food served, increasing participation rates, and educating students about the benefits of healthy eating. The CNC engages students, parents, and guardians in menu development through organizing and nutrition efforts in the short-term, while offering opportunities to improve healthy food access and contribute to a more equitable food system in the Commonwealth’s third largest city. Field Trip attendees will tour the center and learn about building equitable partnerships in their own communities
From School Garden to School Cafeteria in the Northampton Public Schools
Participants will tour an elementary school garden in the Northampton Public School District, not only learning, but also seeing what types of things are best to grow with young students. Then they'll walk to the cafeteria to see how that food is used to supplement school meals (and monthly taste tests). They'll also learn some of the real life challenges school kitchens face and some solutions as well. Participants may even have the chance to do some tasting of their own!