Farm to School
I’m enjoying the summer edition of Edible Portland, published by Ecotrust. Thanks to the last issue, with Ellen Jackson’s article about radishes, we ate a green salad the other night made entirely of produce from our garden and featuring our radishes. Better than her favorite accessories store, the little one said, as she crunched down on a homegrown cucumber dipped in a spicy vinaigrette. And the sautéed kale is really good on this, she declared of the veggie tart. Music to a mama’s ears! I feel lucky that we’re able to garden together and make the connection between the soil and our dinner table. Imagine if that adventure and education were part of the school system! Well it is in Oregon, if we support it.
To that end, I hope you’ll add us to your July 4th plans. A portion of tasting fees that day will go to Ecotrust’s Farm to School program. You can read specifics on our events page and access a link to the list of other participating wineries. We’re pouring library wines that I’m very excited to revisit – a vertical of Cuvée Martha Pirrie, plus some fun Burgs.
From their website: Ecotrust, in close collaboration with a diverse coalition of project partners, is working …to promote “farm to school” programs…that enable schools to feature healthy, locally sourced products in their cafeterias, incorporate nutrition-based curriculum in all academic disciplines, and provide students with experiential agriculture and food-based learning opportunities, from farm visits to gardening, cooking, composting, and recycling.”
Digging around in the dirt and playing with worms? Sounds more fun than some of the field trips I remember from third grade.
