As teacher Liz Mehl peeks into the bag of fresh vegetables her summer school student has just gathered, she gives him a recipe for his brain, not the produce: “Read over the summer.”
It’s the last day of school at Rising Stars, the district’s summer program, and that means it’s also the last summer school free farmers market of the season. Mehl gives him a hug and sends him on his way with some more encouragement and a huge smile.
“It’s a nice way to end the week,” Mehl said keeping an eye on students as they decide what looks best. “They look forward to it.” Mehl and Katie Costello, both specialist teachers at Clinton Elementary School, together ran this year’s summer session. The program helps students maintain the social and academic skills gained during the school year through an interdisciplinary focus on STEM, reading and the arts. Though not officially part of the curriculum, the free farmers market has become part of summer school.
Fresh Veggies Inspire Smart Questions
This is the third year that volunteers from Maplewood Community Garden (including this writer) brought fresh organic produce grown right here in town to Rising Stars for students to take home. At the end of each week, volunteers from the Maplewood Community Garden set up this totally free farmers market where kids are encouraged to touch, crush, smell and taste.
After they leave the classroom, next year’s first, second, and third graders find picnic tables piled with leafy greens still dusty with garden dirt. A few of the vegetables have roots or leaves and some of the herbs have started to bloom. Many in the program don’t have vegetable gardens at home so they get excited when they start looking around. It’s different from what they see in grocery stores, which prompts questions about where food comes from, and conversations about the lifecycle of plants. It also presents an opportunity to learn about healthy eating and to discover new things to eat. Tomatoes and beans are fairly recognizable, but greens and most of the herbs are unfamiliar. Teachers and volunteers explain and every once in a while, someone tries something new. What often comes next is a story about a favorite food and what their family cooks at home.
Exposure is a big part of it. At the beginning of the session, teachers took their classes outside to explore garden beds planted on the school’s front lawn. They pulled radishes. A while later, students made tea out of water and fresh mint, a refreshing and healthy alternative to juice. At the end of the day, Lisa Moser is there to pick up her son. She says he won’t eat anything he brings home – yet – so she steers him toward things she wants to cook.
Within 15 minutes, the tables are empty and all the kids are headed home. It’s the last day and school is officially out until September. “This went like wildfire,” said Judy Kramer, a longtime member of the community garden who helped set up the vegetables. She said she enjoyed talking with the kids and sharing her sautéed kale recipes with teachers and parents.
Next Up, Rent Party and MapleFood Garden
Summer school is over, but the harvest has just started at gardens in town that grow vegetables to supplement shelf-stable groceries on food pantry shelves. Last year, the community garden divided 500 pounds between the schools and Our Lady of Sorrows, a local organization that provides food to 300 people every week, one-third of whom are children.
The Rent Party Garden and MapleFood Garden, two other non-profits that grow and donate organic food, provided even more. Last year, the Rent Party Garden donated 2,000 pounds of produce to Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joseph’s, another place where families who need food can find assistance. The MapleFood Garden, a program that brings kids in to prep soil, plant seedlings, weed, tend and harvest, gave more than 750 pounds. These non-profits meet the needs of local families who don’t have enough to eat, a critical service when kids are out of school and away from subsidized breakfast and lunch programs.
The food pantry at Our Lady of Sorrows opens every Saturday morning at 8:30 am. The Rent Party Garden is always looking for people to help harvest. If you are interested, contact garden@rentpartylive.com. For information on the MapleFood Garden contact youthgarden@maplewoodgardenclub.org.
Stacy Basko is the president of the Maplewood Community Garden. She works as a chef, writer and cooking instructor, and has rising fourth graders at Clinton Elementary School.
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