Four agricultural students will conduct blind taste tests on lettuce grown three different ways; hydroponic, aquaponic and in-ground greenhouse. Students will explain the different systems and collect data on which lettuce is tastiest.
Curbside Procurement Consulting
Drop by to discuss procurement goals and tools to source more local foods for your school meal program that comply with state and federal procurement regulations. Attendees will leave with resources, including templates, to bring back to their districts.
Design Your Dream Garden with Young Learners
Participants will experience a creative activity that can be used in early education and school classrooms to build excitement about gardening in even the coldest months. Using seed catalogues and other art materials, you’ll make a collage of your “dream garden” and learn how this activity can help even the youngest learners think about garden design and give educators insight into what garden elements are most important and exciting for your kids.
Farm to Table Camp and Full Plate for Kids: Resources and Outreach for Ongoing Teaching
Full Plate for Kids invites you to explore the exciting world of plant-based nutrition through a hands-on cooking demonstration led by nurses and nursing students passionate about health promotion in community and school settings.
MA Food for MA Kids - Take Action for Farm & Sea to School
Join members of the Massachusetts Food for Massachusetts Kids advocacy coalition to take action by writing to your legislators to advance farm and sea to school in K-12 and early education programs.
Make Your Own Snack: From Seed to Salad and Grow Tower to Table!
Northampton’s JFK Middle School students, in partnership with the Freshampton team, have been growing lettuce all year using a Flex Farm Hydroponic Grow Tower. Now it’s your turn to experience it. Stop by to see their work up close, harvest your own lettuce straight from the tower, and top it off with goodies from our mini salad bar to create a hyper-local, super-fresh snack.
Blend your favorite dried herbs, flowers, and botanicals into your very own custom tea bags — from calming lavender and chamomile to zesty lemon balm and mint! Learn about each herb's healing properties as you mix, measure, and fill your bags. Take home your handcrafted creations to enjoy a cozy, personalized cup of tea whenever you need a little moment of calm!
What kind of chef has to serve hundreds of hungry customers a nutritious meal within 20 minutes for only about $3.00 a plate? A school food professional! The Labor of Lunch Game puts players in the shoes of a local school nutrition team who has to make dozens of complex decisions each day when providing critical nutrition to their students. Players will work together to create an appealing school lunch while balancing federal reimbursement rates, food prices, labor costs, and unforeseen challenges like equipment failure. The goal of the game is to create empathy for the complicated and exciting world of a school food service professional and help players understand the myriad of factors that go along with serving (and improving!) school meals.
This station brings that experience to life with a cooking demonstration by John Stalker Institute chefs, taste-test samples, and culinary skills that showcase the new HOTM culinary workshops in action.
Traveling Plant Science Education with the Mass. Horticultural Society Plantmobile!
At this table you can meet the worms of MHS’s vermicompost bin, make your own native wildflower seedballs, and learn more about how you can implement plant science education programs in your community!