Teaching Children Where Food Comes From
- Amanda Lapidus
- Oct 29
- 3 min read
Every summer we have the good fortune of driving by farms while on our way to cottage country. As we pass by these beautiful landscapes, I find myself wondering if the luxuries of modern city life are harmful to me and my children. I am not referring to the harm of city pollution or rising gun violence (also not great). What I'm thinking about is the harm of overly accessible food and the lack of understanding of how that food gets to us.
To my children, food seems to emerge by some miracle. Save for the annual trip to the apple orchard, groceries magically appear in the supermarket. The $100 billion (I believe that's an exact number) ad industry targets consumers to buy packaged foods to feed its bottom line. I am not a specialist in many things (most things), but food is where I excel, and I cannot help but feel it is my responsibility to educate them and equip them to combat these constant messages. The question is, how? Discovering that certain foods grow from a seed in the ground can be eye-opening for many kids, especially if they have never seen a vegetable garden before. While they may know that vegetables grow in soil, I'm not sure if they appreciate this in the way that helping with planting and watering would achieve. Perhaps I am being naïve or simplistic (optimistic?) in thinking that growing a family herb garden will help my children to become less affected by ads for colourful tubes of yogurt, but at a minimum, they will begin to understand how much effort goes in to creating the amount of food that ends up in the grocery store.
Here are the activities I have done (and plan to do) with my children and some of the products I’ve found as I embark on this mission to build their awareness of agriculture and whole foods. What kind of things do you do or plan to do to teach your kids about where food comes from?
Grow a vegetable or herb garden with your kids
In warmer weather and if you have a backyard, definitely take that veggie garden outside; however, remember that it is still an option for people living in buildings without access to green space and during colder seasons. I plan to choose an indoor option because I live in Canada, and as you know, it is extremely cold here for most of the year.
AeroGarden Bounty with Herb Seed Pod Kit * Be warned, pricey ($380) but very cool.
There is also a wifi option available ($499).
This one is less expensive ($148) and also gets excellent reviews.
Umbria Giardino Indoor Garden Set* Way less tech involved here, less expensive ($48) and will teach kids the basics. It’s also pretty!
Visit a farm and pick your own seasonal produce.
Check out some great places to go. You can even find out what’s in season to pick!
Put those kids to work in the kitchen!
I am a big fan of teaching children how to cut and help out in the kitchen at a young age. Both my son and daughter (ages 4 and 5) have their own sets of knives and a vegetable peeler. I am always present when they are using them and have shown them proper knife-handling skills. Here are some great kits you can try:
Master Chef Knife & Cutting Board Set* $28 and includes cutting boards, size-appropriate knives and recipe cards
Opinel Le Petit Chef Complete Box Set * $47 . The Knife has a rounded tip and a ring that helps position those little fingers and keeps them from slipping onto the blade (ouch!).
I have the Curious Chef* 3-piece vegetable prep kit, but I’m not very fond of it. I wish I had bought the Opinel Le Petite Chef Set.
Read about food together.
Follow Your Stuff by Kevin Sylvester & Michael Hlinka
In the spirit of understanding not just where our food comes from, but also other items that we take for granted, I just ordered this book. It may be a bit complicated for my little ones, but I think we can discuss it, and my husband and I can explain anything they don’t understand. I will let you know how it goes.
How Does My Garden Grow by Gerda Muller
Love this one and great for kids as young as kindergarten
Comments