Where does your food come from? A farm-to-table project.

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: greenhouses, seed saving
• Education and Training: demonstration, mentoring, youth education
• Farm Business Management: farmers' markets/farm stands
• Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, leadership development

The Farm-to-table gardening project will teach youth how to grow plants and preserve food for personal consumption or to sell at a farmers market.  The pandemic has created an awareness that food shortages are real and the rural communities can grow some of their own food or purchasing from local farmers. The Burleson farm and TerraCotta B&B can provide a place to teach growing, cooking, and food preservation practices to local youth. Involving a team of people to teach gardening, meal planning, and nutritional value of growing your own food with a sustainable outcome.  

1. The youth learned that sustainable agriculture is farming animals or growing food in a way that improves the soil and is sustainable for farm familes.  They learned this by visiting the Burleson beef farm, the Mckean's farm, the community garden, and growing their own vegetables. The raised bed containers will be used again to raise more produce for their families this summer.  Each student will be able to chose what they want to grow, now that the project is complete.  
2. The educational approach was similar to a club.  There were planning meetings, house visits, field trips, presentations, and team work. 
3.  The project goal was to teach participants where their food comes from, this was accomplished through planned and organized activities and field trips. 
4. The youth will be growing their own produce again this summer. The educator had to plan and create a timeline to share with the families on caring for their salsa garden.  This required sending messages and video's on how to care for the plants.  The parents were supportive in helping teach the youth on how to tend to the garden.  

        Success story: A few of the participant do not like to eat vegetables.  Because they grew their own vegetables and were able to choose what they wanted at the farmer's market, they tried eating new fruits and vegetables.  Any mom would consider that a SUCCESS. 

1. Increase sustainable farming skills for youth through hands-on experiences.
2. Introduce youth to sustainable agriculture careers and various gardening methods through visits to local farms and the farmers market. 
3. Create a community greenhouse and garden by growing plants from seed.
4. Teach students the skill of growing, preserving, and cooking sustainably grown produce.
5. Plan a dinner menu with emphasis on nutrition. 
6. Host a farm-to-table dinner, using the produce grown by participants or local farms.
7. Share project results through presentations and social media.