As the harvest season draws to a close, students at Fulton Elementary got to do a little harvesting of their own when Farmer Tim and Farmer Sydney pulled up to the playground in with their Truck Farm!
Students bundled up and gathered around the cheerful, painted truck. They stood on chairs so that they could get a clear view of all of the veggies growing in the truck bed while Farmers Tim and Sydney held a discussion about food. Why do people need to eat food? Where does food come from? What parts of plants do we eat?
One student, nibbling on a piece of chard, said “I feel just like a rabbit right now!"
Students observed all the different ways that we use plants for food: sometimes we eat leaves (like chard and lettuce), sometimes we eat roots (like carrots, beets), and sometimes we eat seeds (like corn)! Also, students had the chance to try a cherry tomato, freshly picked from the Iron Street Urban Farm. Although they know that tomatoes are an important ingredient in foods they love, like pizza, most students found fresh tomato to be a taste they have not yet acquired! Basil leaves, on the other hand, were a big hit.
This was a great opportunity for young students to make beginning connections about the relationship between humans and plants, and start to understand where different kinds of food come from.
Thanks so much to our friends at Truck Farm who helped us celebrate Fulton Elementary as a Healthy Place!