Every second Monday at 10am, students at Rose Tree Elementary School in Upper Providence, PA, know they can expect a visit from Malvern, PA-based Greener Partners, a farm-based educational organization that not only runs three working fruit and vegetable farms, but also works to teach the youngest consumers about the merits of seasonal, local produce and the health benefits of eating whole foods.   
 
After successfully running their farms co-op style for many years, last year Greener Partners decided to take their commitment to organic farming and healthy living one step further by developing Seed to Snack, an educational initiative geared toward school aged children—a target group firmly at the top of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity.
 
The brainchild of Greener Partners’ Meg MacCurtin, education director, and Amy Johnson, director of farm operations, the Seed to Snack curriculum highlights seasonal produce, giving children the chance to sample locally grown vegetables they might have never tried before. “Last year we brought in farm fresh foods, did food tastings and taught students about larger farming issues—what it means to grow organically, what it means to eat from the local food system rather than the conventional food system—but we found that the kids really came to life when they were able to actually taste the food, so we decided to base our whole curriculum just on taste testing,” explained Ms. MacCurtin. “We do talk about other issues related to the food but we’re in mostly public schools and there’s already so much lecture style there so we just wanted it to be all experiential.”
 
The pair follows the same format each month: students sample three different seasonal vegetables such as kale, acorn squash or sweet potatoes, rate them, are encouraged to use words to describe the tastes and textures they experience, and are given a background about the history of the vegetable.
 
For instance, during the winter months students learned about winter squash, a vegetable that’s harvested in the fall but because of its hared outer shell is one of the few vegetables that can keep for months after harvest. Students also learned about how harvests could be dried and preserved, they were treated to locally made pear butter made from fruit that was locally grown and harvested in the fall then preserved for consumption through the winter.
 
The February curriculum focused on herbs because that’s what was growing on the farm that month. March’s curriculum will be centered on legumes, specifically peas, garbanzo beans and edamame. “March is tricky because it’s not necessarily when you harvest but it is when you plant early spring vegetables,” said. Ms. MacCurtin. “We try to help the students understand that 100 years ago, when there was no such thing as refrigerators or food delivery trucks, people were eating these things for certain reasons.”
 
Another part of the Seed to Snack curriculum—arguably the students’ favorite part—is when Ms. MacCurtin and Ms. Johnson whip up a kid-friendly recipe in-class using the veggies of the month. They also send the students home with the recipe so it can be recreated at home. “It’s all about the experience of tasting, which leaves the students empowered and enthusiastic to try these new foods at home,” commented Ms. MacCurtin.
 
When it comes to the snacks they make, she said they try to use whole food ingredients as much as possible. “We let the students know that that means all of the ingredients can be traced back to plants,” said Ms. MacCurtin. “Even our sweeteners are maple syrup or honey.”
 
An overarching goal of Seed to Snack is not just to expose children to vegetables, but also to get them excited about supporting local farms and farmers, and about getting out to patronize local farmers markets “Eating seasonally supports local farmers,” said Ms. MacCurtin. “It affects more than just the students and their families; it affects their whole community.”
 
Karen Daugherty, principal of Rose Tree Elementary, considers Seed to Snack to be a timely and meaningful program. “Not only are we focusing on good nutrition, we are providing students with an opportunity that many students have not experienced before…the chance to taste new foods in a safe and fun environment,” she said. “They also are learning about the importance of nutrition and being able to experience the ‘fruits of their labors.’ It is our hope that families introduce some of these new flavors into their lunch and dinner menus at home.”
 
Alhough there is no national model similar to Seed to Snack, there are other regional programs that emphasize farm-fresh, farm-based nutrition. “What makes ours unique is that we develop a relationship with the students by visiting every month so they really get a sense of what seasonal eating is all about,” added Ms. MacCurtin.
 
So far the program has been met with great success. Barely a year into the operation, Seed to Snack is currently a part of 15 local schools and school districts, all of which are visited once each month. Greener Partners also participates in monthly “new food tastings” in school cafeterias in an effort to boost the nutritional profile of school lunch menus. The organization is currently in the process of expanding its staff to accommodate more school visits.