The Edible Schoolyard

On any given day, a visitor to The Edible Schoolyard kitchen classroom experiences the collaboration of 30 students working to transform the garden's harvest into a delicious, seasonal dish. Each week, 300 students strike the balance between production and passion. Students delight in the work of learning new skills, following directions, and completing tasks within a set timeframe. They display excitement and ingenuity as they mine each lesson for it's creative potential.

The Edible Schoolyard program is integrated into the schools curriculum. Students come to the kitchen classroom with their humanities and electives teachers and class. The children stow their belongings, don aprons, and wash their hands before gathering at the central table. Each 90-minute class begins with a brief presentation by Ms. Cook, during which the day's recipe, ingredients, and preparation method are introduced. The class divides into three groups, and prepares the recipe(s), tasting along the way to insure that the end result reflects the high taste expectations. Tables are set with a cloth, plates, silverware and fresh flowers. Everyone participates in the sharing of food and conversation, and takes responsibility for thoughtful clean up.

The enthusiasm with which children engage in the kitchen is evident in the variety of foods they prepare and enjoy. Favorite recipes include Jerusalem Artichoke Fritters, Pumpkin and Kale Soup, Cucumber Sushi, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seasonal Harvest Soup, and Brown Rice Salad in Red Chard Leaves. Students grow more than 15 types of salad greens in The Edible Schoolyard garden, and enjoy an endless array of salads year round.

The potential for learning in the kitchen classroom is limitless. Students grasp the origins of staple ingredients by grinding their own wheat and corn into flour, and making butter. They appreciate the inherent beauty and bounty of the garden by examining the structure of a fava bean, growing and harvesting rare ornamental corn, or counting seeds in a cherry tomato-and are awed by the ability of one tiny tomato to hold the potential for 100 plants. 'Enough for everyone on my block!' exclaimed one student.

Students practice the Principles of Ecology as they reuse, recycle, and compost. Vegetable peels and scraps become stock, a tin can is a cookie cutter, and bottles are employed as rolling pins. Children carry garden produce to the kitchen, and kitchen scrap to the garden compost pile, participating in the cycle of regeneration. As they eat their way through the seasons and plan menus in anticipation of crops they have planted, their attachment to the natural world strengthens and grows.

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