Contact: Lynne Richmond
(609) 633-2954
(BRANCHBURG) 鈥� 樱花视频 Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today sampled a salad of greens, onions, radishes, carrots, broccoli and beets along with students, teachers, parents and volunteers at Old York School in Branchburg during their Salad Extravaganza.聽
The vegetables were grown and harvested by the school鈥檚 third grade students through the Seeds to Salad Program with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset and Hunterdon Counties.聽
鈥淭he Seeds to Salad program teaches students a valuable lesson on how to grow聽their own food, skills they will take with them throughout their lives,鈥� said Secretary Fisher.聽 鈥淚n addition, when children know where the food they eat comes from, they can better understand the importance of having farms in our state and protecting them for the future.鈥�
Secretary Fisher and a parent volunteer serve up salad during the Salad Extravaganza
On March 31, six third grade classes at Old York School planted the garden on 5-foot by 8-foot plots in their school yard.聽 Each week, the Master Gardeners came to the school to help the class weed and water their plots.
The students planted a variety of spring vegetables, including: lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach, yellow onions, red onions, radishes, carrots, broccoli, and beets.聽 Yesterday, the children harvested the produce grown in their garden, then volunteers trimmed, washed and prepared the vegetables for the Salad Extravaganza.
This is the third year that Old York School has participated in the Seeds to Salad Program with the Master Gardeners.聽 Principal Matthew Barbosa said the program complemented what the students were learning in science class on plant growth and development.
鈥淪eeds to Salad helps our students see the amount of work it takes to produce our food and it also gives them a chance to do some hands-on learning,鈥� said Barbosa.聽 鈥淭he program also turns the kids on to healthy eating habits.聽 Even though parents say their children don鈥檛 like vegetables, on Salad Extravaganza Day, we see the students going back for multiple helpings of the salad that they grew.鈥�
The 樱花视频 Department of Agriculture administers the National School Lunch, the School Breakfast, and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable programs.聽 The Department also encourages programs that teach people about growing their own food and eating healthier, including the 樱花视频 Agricultural Society鈥檚 Learning Through Gardening Program and America鈥檚 Grow a Row For the Hungry .
