Where Does Food Come From?

If you ask a child, ”Where does food come from?”… you might get an answer of, “From the store”.  Children at Crittenton Centers look out their classroom window knowing food does not magically appear at the store.  It takes seeds, sun, water and hard work from dedicated volunteers.

Crittenton Centers’ Community Garden not only is a source of healthy foods for our family and community; it is about education.  Nearly 10 years ago, the garden started with just that in mind… a place to educate children and families about healthy eating.  It has grown to a beautiful fenced garden growing many types of produce including:  squash, corn, green beans, lettuce, kale, radishes, collard greens, green peppers, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.  Each spring, classrooms plant seeds and grow them into seedlings to transplant into the garden.  Last week, a classroom got to pick a green pepper grown from THEIR seeds.  They have learned about the growing process from seed to table.

A garden can absolutely not grow alone!  With a dedicated group of volunteers from Salem Lutheran Church and Bethel United Methodist Church, the garden is a beautiful learning environment.  On any given day, you may see Bill Ligon and a group of Salem Lutheran Church volunteers weeding the garden; Dean Doughty with a tiller working the soil; or Ed Funches and Jim Tyler with a hose watering the garden.  We could not support such a beautiful garden without the countless hours spent by this wonderful group of volunteers!  

On July 13^th, Crittenton Centers held the 5^th Annual Garden Celebration.  Although the weather did not cooperate, community member and Crittenton Centers’ families ate together inside.  Families were also educated about the garden and the benefits of eating healthy, fresh food. 

Many of our families find it challenging to offer their children a healthy alternative to chips for breakfast.  With education, we are able to bring awareness to parents about how important nutritious meals are for the development of our children.  Many times, with all the challenge faced by our families, putting fresh fruits and vegetables on the table is not a priority.  Getting to the bus stop on time to get to work is the priority over making scrambled eggs for breakfast.  By offering education and free, fresh garden produce available, we are working to instill the importance of a nutritious meal.  We hope one of our little people will find out kale chips are better than potato chips.  

Donna Ashley

Program Services Director