Healthy Choices: TOP Students Learn About Food Production

On August 20th, student mentors from Beth Tfiloh took the children of T.O.P. to the farms at the Pearlstone Center to learn more about food production and consumption. Once they stepped off the bus, the children gathered around the instructor to discuss what they already knew about food production. Answers ranged from simplistic comments about food sources to more advanced statements about nutrition and health. Altogether, the kids decided that they had plenty more to learn about food.

The first stop on the students’ tour of the farm was the animal pen. The children traipsed through the large enclosure to a smaller section designated for chickens. At first, some of the kids were hesitant to near get close to the animals, but after seeing Zachary A. ‘15 pick up one of the chickens and promptly be startled by its attempt to fly away, they became much more comfortable with their unfamiliar surroundings. The students then walked over to the goats’ pen where they were allowed to pet and play with the animals. Much to the children’s amusement, a goat climbed on Molly A. ‘17’s back and attempted to jump from her back to the roof of a neighboring pen.

Next, the children went to the fields to learn more about grown produce, where the first crop they saw was wheat. The group stopped to learn about how wheat is threshed, sifted, and ground to become the flour that is used in the products they eat at home. Then, it was their turn to try making flour; students broke into groups and had lots of fun trying to separate wheat kernels from their stalks. A few giggles could be heard as the instructor demonstrated that the flower of the wheat could be separated from the kernels by dropping handfuls of wheat into a bowl and blowing on it during its fall. Then, the children got a chance to grind the wheat into flour by crushing it between bricks.

Afterwards, the kids went to the smaller crop areas where vegetables like potatoes and radishes grow. After some convincing by the instructor, the children agreed to help reseed a patch of the farmland. The kids donned some gardening gloves supplied by the farm and got right to work spreading mulch over the spot. All the students worked together to get the job done in under an hour. The work was characterized by a sense of pride and community, with the occasional squeal when a student’s shoes got dirty. Once the mulch was evenly spread, the children scattered some seeds over their patch and washed their hands for lunch.

During lunch, the students got a chance to discuss what they learned and how it might change their eating habits. Many kids took the opportunity to reevaluate their lunch choices for the day. Some of the children took to asking each other what the ingredients of different foods were. Many students were surprised when they found out that their favorite snacks were made almost entirely of sugar and dye. Everyone agreed that healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are better than their high-sodium, high-sugar processed alternatives.

Though at first reluctant, the students of the U.S. Dream Academy enjoyed their first visit to a farm and learned a lot about nutrition and food production.