Our Nutrition Education team has done a fantastic job working to refine and develop new curriculum for many of our programs for the new year. We are launching some new programs this month, and are excited to feature series-based programming that can expand on key topics more in-depth than the one-time programs we have offered in the past.
2018 FARM TO PRESCHOOL
We will be working with six groups of little ones at three different sites in Pawtucket and Central Falls. Using a “Parts of the Plant” theme, each week students will be introduced to a new plant part like seeds, leaves, and roots.
Over the course of the series, the children will get to engage with a variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables. After hearing a story, playing games, and getting active with our team, preschoolers get to explore the local produce up, close, and personal! Each week closes with a taste test of our special plant part — both on its own and as part of a special prepared snack, sometimes made with the kids help. We are looking forward to seeing how the preschoolers feel about butternut squash, peas, and our carrot lemonade — just to name a few of the exciting new things they’ll be trying!
2018 FARM TO SENIOR
We began our local food journey of 2018 with four senior centers in Providence. Over the next six weeks, our team will be bringing local foods and fun activities to each center. This series will work to expose seniors to locally grown produce, the rich history and current landscape of RI agriculture, and some helpful cooking tips and tricks using local produce! We are looking forward to bringing the bounty of produce that our little state has to offer to our beloved seniors!
This week, we talked about food systems — local and industrial — how food gets from the farm to our plate, and the advantages and disadvantages of each system. Each senior sampled apples from local orchard Barden Family Orchard and from a large corporate grocery store, to see if they could discern a difference between how they tasted! A majority of participants were able to distinguish a difference between the two apples, with one senior stating, “This [local] apple tastes much sweeter and crisper than this [grocery chain] apple; I can really taste a difference!”
