August 2010
Summer, Summer, Summertime
If you are an 80s baby/90s kid like I, you totally remember Will Smith's "ode to summer". Since it is coming to an end, I wanted to rehash some of the highlights of my summer working in the community.
I am going into my second year working at Local Matters, and over the summer when class numbers are down (due to school being out), I work at the Godman Guild with their Summer Teen Employment Program as the supervisor of the Weinland Park Community Garden. I have posted blogs about events that we are doing, but never really went into detail.
Food affects us all, and one thing that I have noticed about the next generation of young people is that, they have lost their connection with food. Why do we eat it? Where does it come from? What is best for us?
Franklinton Gardens Community Event
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Franklinton Gardens community event at 1000 Town St. across from the St. John's Episcopal Church. Directed by Patrick Kaufman, pictured here, this is a neighborhood who's gardens recently won the 2010
Community Garden of the Year award at the Growing to Green Awards Ceremony at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio. As you can see from the photo, the produce is beautiful. Adding to this beauty, is a community of people who know each other's names, help to grow the food and care for each other on a personal level.
OSU Local Produce
OSU Student Farm Produce Stand
Who: The OSU Student Farm will be selling locally grown, pesticide free produce throughout the summer on OSU's Columbus campus. We hope to see you there!
When: TODAY - and Every Wednesday from 2:30 to 4:30
Where: Located under the gazebo in the Chadwick Learning Gardens located between Howlett Hall and Kottman Hall.
What: There will be a wide variety of produce available throughout the summer. This week we have: zucchini, white and red onions, greens, garlic, peppers, okra, basil, honey and fresh cut flowers.
Back to school?!*!%?
My daughter Zoe and i were recently driving around and she saw a "back to school" billboard ad....her response was typical and hilarious. "That is just wrong, it should
be against the law to talk about school in the summer, I mean especially when it is a month away !" That's just about the way I think most of us felt when we were in school, or at least that's how I felt. While parents love the summer as well, by august many of us are ready to ship the kids back
to school...for real. As a parent and a food educator at Local matters i am constantly reminded of how broad the issues are that we face with food. While the issues are many, we can make a simple practical difference day by day, when we do the little things like pack our kids lunches for school.
Food Is Elementary: The School Year Ahead
Our Food Is Elementary team and Local Matters staff have been hard at work preparing new and exciting lessons for this year's Food Is Elementary in the classroom. Many of you know about our Food Is Elementary Program which we have adapted from Antonia Demas's curriculum book, Food Is Elementary: A Hands-On Curriculum for Young Students. These lessons introduce children to basic nutrition concepts and exciting, healthy recipes from around the world in a hands-on, full sensory way.
