Kids Workshop: Farm-to-Fork at Love Apple Farm

Kids today face myriad challenges when it comes to what they eat.  Between multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns, lagging school lunch programs and full family schedules, it can be an uphill battle to get our children to learn more about where their food comes from.

The best way to influence the decisions our children make about food is to help them answer key questions such as: what is real food?  Where does it come from?  Who grows vegetables and raises animals for us to eat?  How is it made? What's in our food?

All of these questions and more, are addressed and unraveled in our brand new Farm-to-Fork workshop for kids and families.  We have packed this workshop full of activities, information and tasty snacks so that kids can get excited about food, farming and cooking.

- Farming:  we begin with an overview of our farm and garden, touring the grounds to see exactly how Love Apple functions as a full time farm.  From where the chickens live to where the seeds are sown, we will cover a lot of different topics in this section.  As we tour the garden, we will taste  the different crops that we have growing in the garden, harvesting along the way for our lunch later. We'll also take a peek at our bee hives, and use our honey in one of our recipes later in the kitchen.

- Chickens: these animals play an important role in our farm, offering fresh, healthy eggs and also acting as pest control and composters.  We will talk about the importance of farm animals, and how many animals serve more than one purpose.  The kids will gather eggs and feed the chickens before we head over to the goats.

- Goats: like our chickens, goats serve more than one purpose on the farm.  They help keep our brush down as well as providing us with fresh milk every day.  The kids will meet our dairy goats, and then participate in milking them, harvesting fresh milk for cheese-making.

- Cooking: cooking from the garden is second nature to us at the farm, but many kids don't realize just how the food on their plates got there.  In the cooking portion of this workshop, we will put together a salad with what we've harvested from the garden, make cheese from our goat's milk and a simple dish with our fresh farm eggs and vegetables.  The kids are encouraged to participate: they will wash fresh soil off our newly-picked veggies, trim and ready them for cooking, and see how simple and healthy dishes straight from the garden can be prepared in minutes.  The kids will pull ribbons of fresh mozzerella and make sweet and savory crepes with what we've harvested from the farm!

Read a review of the workshop here.

**This workshop is for kids 7 years old and up unless otherwise noted. 
(if you would like to request a class for a different age group or a private party, please email fiona@loveapplefarms.com) 

As always, this workshop is held at our new location: 2317 Vine Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA

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ALL CLASSES HELD RAIN OR SHINE - MOST TEACHING DONE INDOORS IN INCLEMENT WEATHER - WEAR RAIN BOOTS FOR TROMPING AND SLICKERS!

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Tuition:
-One parent and one child - $145
-Additional child or additional adult to accompany first "team"- $79
(supply costs are included in the tuition)

Available Dates:

Saturday, January 15th, 2011  (Noon - 4pm) SOLD OUT

Sunday, February 13th, 2011 (11am - 3pm) SOLD OUT 

(Ages 7+) Saturday, March 26th, 2011 (noon - 4pm)

(Ages 5-8) Saturday, May 21, 2011 (noon - 4pm)

(Ages 7+) Saturday, June 18th, 2011 (noon - 4pm)

ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Please review our class cancellation policy prior to registration.

If the workshop dates don't work for you, if the class is full, or if you'd like to request that another class be added, please email us and we'll do our best to accommodate you.

Love Apple Farm gift certificates can be used toward classes, seedlings and merchandise, They are available for purchase here.

Check out other classes at Love Apple Farm.

Comments

[Diane]

Just wanted to report we had a great time on Saturday at the Farm to Fork class. If you are trying to decide, I wouldn't hesitate to bring your son, daughter, niece, nephew or any other kid you want to share the experience of learning where your food comes from.

[Adele Jenkins]

For me, the most important reason for kids to get out in the garden is to learn that fruit and vegetables are seasonal. The best way to learn that is to be part of the growing process.

[Sandy Francis]

Gardening is a peaceful way of getting to know the earth and your enviorment. We need to teach our children where our food comes from and how to treat the earth. If we teach them at a young age how to take care of the soil we will have it for generations to come.
What a great way to watch your vegetables grow is through the eyes of a child!

[Gary Millwood]

I learned the joy of gardening as a child and have always involved children/youth to spend time with me preparing the garden, planting seed, maintaining the soil and keeping weeds at bay, and collecting vegetables. Gardening provides learning opportunities on the importance and enjoyment of growing your own food. Sun and rains are necessary to all things in life especially in the garden. Here we can observe how we can care and protect nature in all seasons.

[Patricia Klitgaard]

It's terrific to get kids into the garden. My great nieces let the chickens (50) out in the morning and gather the eggs. The 6 year old walks around with a chicken under each arm--they like it. They also gather veggies (organically grown) and sometimes help plant them too. Consequently, they love veggies and fruit as well as sugar-sweetened desserts; they devour the cherry tomatoes I put out for them. They also ask intelligent questions about the quality of food.

[Petrina]

One of the greatest and priceless gifts I've received from my parents was to learn about the gardening by spending many hours along side them, digging in the soil, planting the seeds and the seedlings, tending them, watching them grow and preparing in the kitchen.I now share this love for gardening & cooking with my children and friends and it's one of the most rewarding things to see their appreciation for high quality, home or locally grown foods. Farm-to-fork workshops are essential for the betterment of our planet.

[Rosemary Busher]

Children in the garden just go together! And they GROW together too! As they "grow like weeds" we can share the bounty of our backyard garden efforts with taste, texture, and aroma. They can see the garden successes as well as the seemingly inevitable complete failures and how to overcome them. A true life lesson.

[Patricia Messer]

I agree that we need to show children where their food comes from. We are working with an elementary school to grow greens in the classroom for the salad bar. Our Jordan School district is implementing "Farm to School" and buying local into their nutrition program.
We are so happy for these changes.
Thanks for all you do.

[Sandra]

It is very important for kids to plant a garden because is one way for them to see in person that veggies don't grow in grocery store shelves and that healthy, fresh food is more enjoyable when is grown by their own hands.

[darnell]

i let the cheerleaders plant my garden. they never plant seeds before. they are 15 & 16 years old, so its every important that these kids learn how to eay & where there food come from. how to weed a garden, watch how the plants grow.

[Carla]

These are FABULOUS classes for children, to learn where their food comes from, to learn to eat lots of veggies, and to learn more about their environment. How AWESOME that you do these classes!!

~Carla in Montana

[Diane]

This will be my 10th class at Love Apple Farm, and I'm thrilled to be sharing my passion for organic gardening, raising my own food, and cooking with my niece Lily. I expect this may be a life changing experience for her and I know it will be a wonderful time for both of us. I can hardly wait.