So, life has been insanely busy here. Mostly with stupid stuff, but busy anyway. In my spare time I'm still pushing on the local food issue. I've learned a ton. (I should be paid to do workshops about local food economics, and how to change your local food system, but no one is hiring...) Anyway... one of the things that bubbled to the surface is that many food choices are made with kids in mind. Think about it... when you are shopping for groceries, if you have kids the ultimate discriminator for most things is "The Kids Won't (or will) eat that." When I talk with people about food, local food, real food, Slow Food, etc. I get lots of nodding heads. People hear and agree with what I have to say. BUT, when they spend money it's about what's convienent, cheap, and what the KIDS will eat. I can quickly make some real foods convienent, and usually make them way cheaper than the processed crap, but winning the kids is a challenge. So, any time I get the oppertunity to talk with kids about food I take it.
That's where my pizza garden came from. I had a chance to spend an hour with kids at a camp talking about food. They already had pizza planned for lunch, so I spent the time on how to grow your own pizza. We planted garlic, onions, oregano, wheat, tomatoes, and peppers. Maybe not a whole pizza, but they got to taste ingredients, and see where they come from. Later we will make a pizza from scratch... Here is our pizza garden.
I'm looking for more ways to connect kids with food and to make local kids food easier for parents who aren't quite as local food crazy as I am. Ideas welcome.
2 comments:
We are trying to get a school garden going. We will be building beds next month. I am starting some fall garden plants in pots. One of the reasons we wanted a garden is to get kids thinking and eating differently/better. Here is a link that might interest you.
http://www.kidsgardening.org/school-gardening
Thanks for the link. Looks like a great resource for families and groups working with kids.
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