Seed to Plate celebrates first year with cookout

After four days learning about gardening, soil health and cooking, the middle school students in the Seed to Plate summer program got the chance to share their knowledge at a cookout on June 26.

The cookout at the Homewood City Schools Community Garden featured mint “sun” tea, fresh blackberries, roasted vegetables and tacos made by Little Donkey with garden ingredients. The students had picked all the vegetables and berries that morning. As soft reggae music played, parents and children munched on salads and roasted peppers while discussing what they had learned through the program.

The program focused on the science of gardening, so students learned about soil testing, composting, juicing, pollination and the importance of worms. They also had the chance to prepare food from the garden in dishes such as vegetable pizzas, a roasted potato bar and vegetable quiche.

“We’ve just gotten to spend a lot of time outside, and it’s just been great because we’ve gotten to interact with other people and learn all about cooking and gardening,” said Rebekah Bates, a rising sixth-grader whose favorite food from the garden is blackberries. “It gives me a way to take action and do something. And it’s just been fun.”

Homewood Middle School teachers Briana Morton and Molly Knudsen created the Seed to Plate program to connect children with the food they eat. The inaugural class was 15 rising sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders who have also made a one-year commitment to volunteer in the garden in conjunction with the Homewood Middle School Environmental Club.

The students’ passion for the program was obvious at the cookout. They led parents through the pollination garden to explain the importance of bees and encouraged everyone to try the food they helped to prepare. Morton said both the teachers and students had a lot of fun through the week, and Seed to Plate’s first year was a big hit.

“It’s just been a great week, a whirlwind week,” Morton said.