Harvest Time
Harvest Time
Embedded Files
Published in our November 2024 newsletter
This past fall, the EAT RIGHT PHILLY office had the opportunity to visit Nice Roots Farm in North Philadelphia. Nice Roots Farm is an urban farm run by Share Food Program. The farm grows fresh fruits and vegetables to donate to the community through Share-affiliated pantries and mutual aid networks, as well as offers free field trips to Philadelphia students.
During our field trip we got a tour of the whole farm, from the fruit trees to the greenhouses to the herb garden. The visit was a great way to see everything the farm offers and helped our Nutrition Coordinators to start planning farm field trips for students at their school sites. We had a great time!
But don’t just take our word for it; check out a recent field trip students from Martha Washington Elementary took to the farm! Program Manager Danielle accompanied life skills classes of 3rd-5th grade students and their teachers to Nice Roots Farm, where they met with Ellie, Keliah, and Zainab, who would be leading this fun-fill excursion.
The students started their day by gathering on benches in the orchard to learn about the farm and Share Food Program, as well as go over safety rules. Once they understood the basics, students ventured out on a scavenger hunt to get to know the farm better. Everyone got to explore and search for different types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as well as find the greenhouses and compost areas. To follow up this active activity, Share team members led a discussion about food justice to get students thinking about what food security means to them.
A highlight of the experience was getting to harvest and cook fresh vegetables! Students worked together to pick turnips and kale, learning about how to tell when the vegetables are ripe and how to safely use shears to harvest leafy greens. The students then weighed the freshly picked produce, washed their hands and the kale, and got to prepping. The Share team demonstrated how to separate the kale leaves from the woody stalk and how to massage the kale to tenderize it. Finally, students combined the kale with roasted butternut squash and got to taste test the bounty. Everyone loved it!
To wrap up the day, the students and the Share team discussed in-season foods. The delicious sample of freshly picked vegetables certainly helped encourage students to eat locally and in-season, whenever possible. Since Martha Washington Elementary receives monthly donations of in-season produce, this was a great learning opportunity for the students on the trip.
Do you have a class that would be a good fit for a day at Nice Roots Farm? Reach out to your school’s Nutrition Coordinator to begin planning your field trip.
Google Sites
Report abuse