Teaching Kids About Agriculture

Waco students learn about food production at World Hunger Relief

By Erin Quinn Tribune-Herald staff writer
Sunday, September 27, 2009

Tennyson Middle School student Austin Lyon never thought about where his food came from before.

The 13-year-old never realized that vegetables were much cheaper to plant than they are to buy in the grocery store.

And he had no idea that planting and harvesting his own food could actually be fun.

Lyon is one of about 15 Tennyson and Brazos middle school students who go to World Hunger Relief in Elm Mott once a week as part of the Communities In Schools of the Heart of Texas after-school program.

The program works with 30 community agencies, including World Hunger Relief, that are designed to support students’ emotional, social, physical and intellectual development.

“It gets them outside their boxes,” said Sara Karnes, an AmeriCorps member who works with Communities In Schools. Read More

Teaching our kids about how our food is grown and the need of maintaining a safe, affordable, abundant food supply is vitally important. Last week my wife and I went into our son’s first grade class to do an activity about seeds. We shared with them how farmers plant seeds in the ground to grow our food. Finally we did an activity with them where they get to actually plant seeds inside a clear plastic glove with damp cotton ball so that they can see them sprout. Hopefully you can find an opportunity to work with a classroom in your area to share the story of agriculture with them.