How to Teach Your Kids Where Food Comes From

by Melody Thacker, in How To (No Comments)

If you ask a group of children where their food such as apples come from, chances are several of them are going to tell you that apples come from “the store.” And they do, but only after being grown on an apple tree, harvested and shipped.  It’s important for us to remember where real food, fruits, vegetables, produce, meat, milk, grains etc come from so we can teach our kids too. Informed choices are the best ones, and the more children know about what goes into their food, the better equipped they will be to make healthy choices in the future.

But how can you teach your children about the origins of food? Here are some ideas:

Visit a local farmer!
You don’t have to visit the exact farm where your grocery produce comes from (that would probably be impossible anyhow). But visiting a farm of some sort and seeing how familiar foods are grown can be fun and very educational. Some farmers open their land up to customers who want to pick their own produce, strawberries and apples.

Go to the farmer’s market!
When you take your child to your local market, make a point of talking to the vendors. Most of them love to discuss their gardening and farming experiences. Not only does this help children understand what goes into growing food, but this experience puts a face on food and makes it personal. A child may be more likely to eat food that is connected to an interesting individual, too.

Start or visit a community garden!
Community gardens are a wonderful educational and social experience. They teach personal responsibility and foster a sense of interdependence. Those are key elements to teaching our children with regard to the origins of food, they need to see how weather, people, soil, etc. are connected, and that they are part of that interconnectedness.

Start or visit a city allotment!
City allotments are the urban dweller’s answer to a community garden. Vacant lots in various cities in the U.S. have been plowed up and planted, and have proven to be an excellent teaching tool for inner-city children. Helping to plant, tend, and harvest food gives children an appreciation for it. In our instant-gratification, packaged-for-your-convenience culture, cultivating an appreciation for food is vital.

Grow your own!
Before you think you don’t have enough outdoor space, consider container or window gardening. City dwellers have been known to grow lavish container gardens on the roofs of buildings, and still other urban gardeners use sunny windows and home-made growing containers. Even if you just grow some kitchen herbs like basil and oregano, your child can harvest these and make pesto or flavor spaghetti sauce. It still illustrates a connection between the living plants, the child, and the food on the table. And that’s the ultimate goal.

Watch a video! Nothing is growing in the winter months, so cozy up with your child and watch a video about how food is grown. There are tons of age appropriate videos on youtube and other video sharing sites!

I hope this inspires you to think about where your food comes from and you’ll teach the younger generation where food comes from too!