St. Joseph's Outreach Event

On Monday April 11 we had the opportunity to go to St. Josephs Catholic Elementary school where we were able to join in on the Grade 7 and Grade 5 classes. We began the day in the Grade 7 room where we introduced ourselves. All four of the Garden 2 Table members were able to attend; Bonnie, Erika, Abby and Callie. The grade 7 room was full of plants and flowers. The teacher is in love with gardening and we loved the atmosphere of the room.
 

After introductions the class was split up into 3 groups and Abby and Bonnie brought the first group down into the school's kitchen for the first part of pizza prep to occur. They started with safe knife and hand washing skills before the kids began their activity. Each student either cut tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, or green peppers. There was also a station for grating cheese, and spreading tomato sauce onto the pizza dough. Fresh arugula was also supplied which came in a planter with soil and so the kids were able to pick the arugula straight off of the plant.

The kids really liked this feature and the plant was given to the teacher to be kept in the classroom with all her other plants. Most of the ingredients were organic from Goodness Me in Guelph. We also had locally grown mushrooms and Ontario produced sauce.

While the first group was in the kitchen having loads of fun with Bonnie and Abby. Erika and I were talking to the Grade 7's about all the different ingredients in a pizza. We asked them what their favourite toppings were, how many food groups can be found in one pizza and how we can make pizza a healthier option. We then worked through all the different ingredients to talk about their processing and where they come from. We started with the dough and did the yeast experiment and told the kids how yeast works. They were very intrigued and seemed to love that we did the experiment to show them yeast working right in front of them and how it works in our bread.


We then showed a video on how cheese is made and the process of a tomato plant growing. These videos were appreciated by the class and we had lots of good questions and comments throughout. While all of the ingredients were being described, the groups would go and start their prep after the previous group was finished in the kitchen.


We also had an activity where we gave each student pictures of different fruits and vegetable and they had to decide whether the food could be grown locally or if it needed to be purchased from other places around the world. The Grade 7's worked very well as a team to figure out these ingredients and learned how important eating locally is. After each group had a chance to go prep their pizza, the pizza was brought back up and served so that it could be eaten together with everyone. While the class ate the pizza we played jeopardy that contained questions dealing with food safety, nutrition, gardening, and local and organic food. The kids all said they loved the pizza! 


This exact process was done in the Grade 5 class and both classes got to enjoy pizza with whatever ingredients they chose and had an interactive learning experience about food, how and where it grows and nutrition information. Thanks so much St. Joseph's!!!

Sacred Heart

Today, we had the privilege of joining the grade 7 class at Sacred Heart school. The class was very energetic and we really enjoyed our visit!

We began the day with an experiment where we filled water bottles with warm water, yeast and sugar and attached balloons to the top of the water bottles. We let them all sit in a row at the front of the classroom and by the end of our visit the balloons were all inflated!

Next, we talked about many people's favorite food: Pizza! We talked about ways to make pizza more healthy like home made pizza sauce, extra veggies, and using whole wheat naan bread instead of white crust. We also learned about the cheese making process.

After that, the class made their way to the kitchen and we began making our healthy pizzas. The students broke up into four groups and they spread sauce on the pitas, washed spinach, sliced veggies including peppers, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms and grated cheese. The students were able to practice safe knife handling too. Once all of the pizzas were made we put them in the oven and made our way back to the classroom.

We finished the day with a game of nutrition Jeopardy and then enjoyed the pizzas we made together. The students agreed that the healthier version was still delicious.

Thanks for having us Grade 7's. It's been a slice!

Big Brothers Big Sisters

On February 6, 2016, we spent the day with 6 big brothers and big sisters along with their littles. This was our first outreach event of the new year and it took place at Pj's Restaurant in the atrium on The University of Guelph Campus.



The day began with the group getting to know each other.  A scavenger hunt took place, where the littles had to search the room for hidden tips and information about nutritious food, food safety and organic farming. After this activity we started cooking in The Pj's kitchen. The group started with making zucchini, carrot muffins, that used apple sauce to make them very moist! After the muffins were made and cooled, bigs and littles decorated them with cream cheese frosting and yummy treats. This was a way to show the littles how to make a healthier version of a cupcake or muffin.









 Half of the group then started to work on vegetarian chili, filled with lots of vegetables and beans. Another group worked on a meat chili, made with ground beef. Many of the littles learned new food skills with the help of their bigs. Fresh focaccia, topped with rosemary was also prepared to accompany the chili. We were fortunate that one of the bigs was a trained chef, as she helped us with the bread recipe. It was a learning experience for everyone involved. Littles learned about the importance of composting and the chili recipe taught the littles that a variety of vegetables, such as carrots, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes can be added to a dish to make it healthier. We also did a science experiment with the group that demonstrated that yeast and sugar water, gives off carbon dioxide which can fill a balloon. This characteristic of yeast  gives bread its airy quality.






After the meal was prepared, the group sat down to share the meal together. Everything tasted very delicious, and the bigs and the littles were proud of what they had cooked. This event was a huge success and the bigs provided feedback that they enjoyed cooking with their littles.

We would like to thank Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guelph for participating in this event along with our wonderful volunteers who helped us make this day a huge success.

St Ignatius Visits the Garden and Food Lab

Last Tuesday we had our third Garden2Table event. A second, seventh grade class from St. Ignatius visited the Guelph Urban Organic Farm and then ended the day in the on campus food lab where they cooked with the produce that was harvested.

The students arrived bright and early in the morning and started the day off with a tour of the garden, led by the always wonderful and informative Danie. The class learned about what it means to be organic, the flow of water at the farm and composting.

The class then had the chance to harvest some fresh leeks. Some students had never seen a leek before, so they were very excited!

After harvesting leeks the students made their way to the potato patch where they got to get their hands dirty. Danie taught the class that when potatoes are exposed to sunlight they turn green and are no longer ideal to eat. The class then got to use a pitch fork and work together to harvest red skinned potatoes.

Next the class broke up into teams and worked on various  farm tasks which included sorting hot peppers, cleaning garlic, harvesting herbs and grading tomatoes. 

The grade seven students then made there way over to the food lab in MacDonald Institute which we used as a cooking facility to cook delicious food with the potatoes, leeks and herbs the students harvested early in the day. The class was split into nine groups, who were each paired with a volunteer to cook the recipes. Chef Geoff from Miijidaa, a newly opened restaurant in Guelph which showcases Canadian cuisine, was able to join us for the cooking session and help the students with their cooking skills. Chef Geoff showed the students which part of the leek was best to use in the soup and what part could be composted or used to make vegetable stock.  

The students first made a potato, leek soup, which contained onion, celery, potatoes, leeks, bacon as well as herbs and spices. They then made a honey granola recipe which utilized honey from the Honey Bee Research Centre on campus. The students were able to take the granola home to share with their families and friends. 

The students taste tested their potato leek soup and everyone agreed it was very delicious. We finished the day with a discussion on the importance of knowing where your food comes from. The students also agreed that cooking with fresh ingredients wasn't too difficult and they enjoyed making the recipes. A group photo was taken before St.Ignatius returned to their school. 

A huge thank you is extended to all of the volunteers that assisted with the event, Chef Geoff, Danie and the garden and of course St.Ignatius for coming out to this Garden2Table event. 

St. Ignatius Visits the Honey Bee Research Center

This Wednesday we had our second Garden2Table visit of the semester. Mr. Koledin’s class from grade 7 visited the Honey Bee Research Centre and had a chance to learn all about bee’s and honey.

The class arrived at the Honey Bee Research Centre at 10:30, and after a round of introductions they came inside to learn more about honeybees and the science behind how honey is made.

      

 

Paul Kelly, Research and Apiary Manager, Presenter Extraordinaire (and birthday boy!) taught the student’s about bee-hives, drones, trophallaxis and how bees find hives and make honey. Paul even did a demonstration of the “waggle dance” which forager bees do to share information with the rest of the colony about where the closest patch of flowers with pollen is.

Afterwards, the students headed outside so they could see the honeybees in action. The students made a quick stop to see the home of the  “honey monster” (you’ll have to visit the research centre to find out more).

First, Paul showed the students a smoker, which is a device used to calm down the bees who are protecting the hive. Then we walked over to the beehives where Paul used the smoker so he could pull out some of the hives so the students could see the bees close up.

The students were a little bit nervous around the bees at first, but by the end they were reaching in and sampling honey straight out of the hives themselves! They tasted how sweet and tasty the honey was straight from the hive Paul even picked a drone bee out and showed the students up close.

After a big thank you to Paul, we hopped back on the bus and made our way to the University where we used the honey to make a honey Dijon salad dressing with the students. They had a great time sampling the different dressings and learning about how to involve honey in cooking. The students had lots of great ideas on how we to cook with honey!

After we cleaned up, we talked with the students about the day, and then it was time to say goodbye! A big thank you goes out to Mr.Koledin at St.Ignatius, his wonderful students, and Paul at the research centre for making the day so fun!

Our next visit will be this coming Tuesday with St. Ignatius again!

We hope everyone has a wonderful long Thanksgiving weekend!

- The Garden2Table 2015 team

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St. John's Grade 5 Class Garden Visit

Yesterday we hosted our first garden visit of the school year. We were thrilled to welcome Ms. Cazzola's 5th grade class from St. John Catholic School. Though there was a little bit of a drizzle it didn't dampen the student's spirits and we had a wonderful day in the garden.

The day started with a tour of the garden led by Danie who is currently studying Organic Agriculture at UofG. Danie was very informative and showed us many plants the students had never seen before. As we passed the Kale plants Danie picked some and each student had the opportunity to taste it. We then made our way to the back fields of the farm. Danie explained that because this field was farther away and not visited as often deer like to come into the field and eat the plants. We learned that deer are afraid of shiny objects which is why there is a string of dangling tin foil around the field. There was also a giant scarecrow!

As we made our way back to the farm entrance, we stopped to pick some fresh raspberries which the students got to immediately eat. They were delicious!

After our lunch break Chef Steven led the class in making Honey and Fresh Herb Vinaigrette. We split into three groups and each group harvested some fresh herbs.  We harvested thyme, mint and parsley. Stephen used the fresh herbs and made a big batch of the dressing which we served to the students with organic veggies. Each student then had the opportunity to make their own dressing in a mason jar. They added all the ingredients and each got to choose which herbs to use. Then they got to shake them up!

The students also had a chance to eat some edible flowers!

We finished the day with a group photo and a discussion period. The class agreed that a lot of work goes into organic farming and that it is important to appreciate where food comes from!