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Growing Together: Carver Community Center Kids Learn About Food Production
June 20, 2013
About 50 children, ages 5-14, in a summer education series program at the Carver Community Center in Century are learning a lot about food this summer.
UF IFAS/Extension Escambia County Agents have teamed up with Carver Community Center Director Marilyn Robinson to offer lessons related to nutrition, preparing healthy food, water resources, insects, livestock, discovering where originates, and healthy choices for the youth of Century.
On Wednesday, youth, chaperones and Extensions agents set out on a small farm tour to get up close and personal with food production.
Near Walnut Hill, James Earl and Blaire Hall shared information about their black Angus operation and James Earl and Tucker Hall’s watermelon patch. Unfortunately, Hall’s watermelons are not ripe just yet, but the kids still learned about subsurface drip irrigation, the importance of bees and pollination in watermelons, and how to produce tasty watermelons.
James Earl Hall also shared how livestock producers care for their animals and ensure herd health. One ambitious volunteer allowed himself to be placed in a cattle catch chute so the group could learn what it’s like for cattle to visit the doctor.
After a lunch at the Oak Grove Community Center, the Carver Community Center kids visited Matt’s Produce in Byrneville where the kids saw tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, green bell peppers, yellow banana peppers, and cayenne peppers growing on plastic with subsurface drip. They were also invited to pick fresh blackberries, and try blueberries fresh off the bush.
Many of the children at the Carver Community Center also received free shoes Wednesday as part of the Soles4Souls program.
Above: Fresh veggies at Matt Carter’s Farm near Byrneville.
Above: Learning about a cattle operation with James Earl Hall.
Above: Making a healthy snack.
Above: Enjoying fresh parfaits.
Above: Learning about a worm farm.
Above: Working with the younger children in the program.
Above: Many children at the Carver Community Center received free shoes Wednesday through the Soles4Souls program.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
2 Responses to “Growing Together: Carver Community Center Kids Learn About Food Production”
Sadly,
Most kids today are not being taught today how easy it is to grow a small Garden that will feed the family during the Summer months.
Canning or “putting up” vegetables for the Winter is a lost art for most. Too easy for those that have a little money to go buy it, and the EBT card feeds the poor.. Again, its becoming a lost art.
Wow, this is great! I remember being in Cub Scouts and touring the Weis Dairy Farm out on 9 Mile Road (back when that area was referred to as “way out on 9 Mile Road”). We learned a lot about dairy farming on that trip, and I remember it to this day. Those are great looking veggies, but I don’t think the little girl likes the banana pepper very much. I hope this will help kids learn that food doesn’t always come in a box from the freezer section at the grocery store, and that fresh produce is the best. We grew vegetables in a garden when I was young, too, and it was great fun to taste the “fruits” of our work.