Teach Community Through Food

November 07, 2011, By Kurt D. Moore 0 comments

Food is a powerful tool when teaching children about the world around them. Your kids can travel to faraway places without getting on a plane, learn the value of sharing and start to understand where their food comes from along the way.



Living in the Midwest gives me these opportunities all the time. While driving my son around, I point out cornfields and cows and explain to him that the supermarket isn’t where food really comes from. One of our future projects is visiting a local farm to get a close-up look at how our food is grown and raised.



We also plan to visit a donut store so that he can see how donuts are made and how the baker puts the cream in the middle. My son told me he's always been curious about that, so when I bumped into the owner of a donut store, I asked if we could come by sometime. 



Even a trip to the supermarket is a learning experience. As you walk down the aisles, ask your children if they know where tuna comes from or how chickens are raised.

These activities also teach diversity. When a local college held an international festival, we went to sample the foods. It gave me an opportunity to teach my son about different countries, such as the Philippines and Mexico as well as Germany, one of the countries where my ancestors lived. I used a map to show him where a friend lived in the Philippines and told him about how she cooked food similar to what he was eating.



Of course, you don’t have to wait for a festival to come to town. The next time you cook or eat a Greek, Chinese, Mexican or Italian meal, talk about the culture of the people where the food originates. Hang a map in the kitchen and point to places that influence the meal as you cook. 


Another powerful teaching tool is a community garden. In our area, a local preschool director has partnered with a community garden project. She takes the children every few days to let them see the food grow and to help care for the garden.

 When the tomatoes, peppers and onions are ready to pick, the kids help her harvest the vegetables, and she gives the food to a local food pantry. This project teaches kids where food comes from, how to raise and harvest vegetables and the importance of sharing.

Valuable lessons all.