Spring Harvest Day!

Spending time outdoors is one of our favorite things about this time of year, and this week, Kitchen All Stars classes ventured outside the kitchen and into the garden! Participants from multiple sites explored the Brainfood Youth Garden together and spent the afternoon harvesting, learning, playing games, and of course, cooking. At this point in the year, students know their own Brainfood classmates quite well, but may not know the students who are in Brainfood programs at a different site. And what better way to get to know new people than pulling up radishes together?

While some participants made new friends over mint plants and learned how to properly pick mustard greens in a way that doesn’t harm the plant, others played team-building games inside while still others worked in the kitchen to prep our garden-themed recipes. As the groups rotated through these three activities, it was abundantly clear that Brainfood students know how to carry the spirit of the program wherever they go. Whether in the kitchen, the garden, or the classroom, students exemplify the Brainfood way. Finding themselves in a new environment and with new people, participants upheld all the Brainfood group expectations, consistently demonstrated leadership skills and effective group work, and of course showed the creativity, passion, and energy that we teachers know so well from seeing it in each of our Brainfood classes.  

At the end of the day, we enjoyed a seasonal feast of mint lemonade, garlic knots with fresh herb butter, a big salad full of with kale, radishes, and other yummy garden veggies, and a simple but delicious strawberry dessert.  The students all agreed that herbs and produce picked from our garden tasted particularly flavorful, and they loved hearing from each group about which foods they had harvested and which recipes that had prepared. It was a truly collaborative process, culminating in a lovely springtime afternoon snack. We can’t wait to spend more time in the garden with Brainfood participants this spring and summer!