Integrating Gardening and Cooking into Classroom Learning at Green Street School

I don’t know about you - but we’re pretty big believers that some of the best-tasting tomatoes and peppers are the ones you grow yourself. 

Farm to School coaches Sheila and Katie were happy to see 4th grade students at Green Street School in Brattleboro learn this firsthand at a recent pizza-making event. The pizza featured tomato sauce made by students with tomatoes, peppers, and herbs harvested from the school garden and greenhouse. 

School Garden Coordinator Tara Gordon and French teacher Alice Charkes have been instrumental in this initiative.  Under Tara's guidance, 3rd graders engaged in harvesting tomatoes, green peppers, and various herbs like oregano, sage, lemon balm, and rosemary from the school's garden and greenhouse. 

Simultaneously, Alice's 4th-grade class was immersed in learning French vocabulary related to pizza, including words like 'fromage' (cheese), 'sauce tomate' (tomato sauce), and 'champignon' (mushroom). This linguistic journey culminated in a practical cooking session where each student crafted their mini pizza. 

They started from scratch, mixing ingredients: yeast, oil, sugar, flour, and water to create a delicious homemade dough. Toppings included cheese, the tomato sauce made by the 3rd graders, and fresh oyster mushrooms grown in the school garden. The activity concluded with baking the pizzas and enjoying the fruits of their labor, marked by a collective 'bon appétit'.

This project at Green Street School exemplifies an effective blend of practical skills and academic learning, providing students with a holistic educational experience that extends beyond traditional classroom boundaries.

It's inspiring to witness students forging meaningful connections between the food they eat and how it’s grown. 

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Growing Gardens Throughout Windham Southeast Supervisory District

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Second graders from Academy School got to share their scratch cooking skills by making beautiful chocolate beet cupcakes, topped with pink frosting tinted with beet juice, for a recent Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) school board meeting. This delicious treat was just the beginning of a very special Valentine’s Day evening presentation celebrating school gardens, Farm to School programs, and outdoor education in WSESD schools.

Chroma Technology Is Committed to Giving Back to Their Community

As the Farm to School program continues to gain momentum in schools across the United States, it’s important to recognize the companies that make this valuable initiative possible. One such company that deserves recognition is Chroma Technology, based in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Chroma Technology has been a generous supporter of Food Connects' Farm to School program, and we would like to express our sincere gratitude for their support.

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Boundary Crossing Through Stories: Exploring Multiple Perspectives and Counter Narratives in Vermont Food Systems

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By Kris Nelson

“What are the costs of leaving one’s homeland?” “What are the true human costs of our food?” “What is a ‘New England’ story?” These questions are at the heart of stories told by migrant dairy farm workers in Vermont, collected in the nonfiction comics anthology, The Most Costly Journey / El viaje más caro: Stories of Migrant Workers in Vermont, Drawn by New England Cartoonists edited by Marek Bennett, Julia Grand Doucet, Andy Kolovos, and Teresa Mares. Mares, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, discussed the book, and how it came to be, in her keynote presentation at a recent Farm to School professional development event for Vermont educators, Multiple Perspectives and Counter Narratives in VT Food Systems. I recently attended the event, hosted by Shelburne Farms, Vermont Folklife, and the Vermont Historical Society, with Farm to School Coach Sheila Humphreys.

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Making Magic at Academy School

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By Sheila Humphreys

Kathy Cassin, Garden Coordinator at Academy School in Brattleboro, VT, recently brought magic into the lives of kindergarten students. It’s part of her job to make gardening and cooking activities come alive at the school, and Kathy definitely rose to the occasion this time!