From garden to the table, children getting their hands dirty making meals from scratch

GROW La Crosse getting kids involved in nature of eating

How food gets from the ground to the table can be an eye-opening experience for some children.

That is precisely what’s happening with kids from the Boys and Girls Club of La Crosse, as they learn what it takes from the group GROW La Crosse.

“When you give them that experience and they have their hands dirty and they grow that food and they’re able to make it, they’re like “Wow, I want to try this, I was part of this!'” GROW executive director Anne Seehafer said.

The kids are splitting time between the People’s Food Co-Op and the Deep Roots Community Farm as part of the week long program.

Funding came from a grant by the Robert and Eleanor Foundation. It was free for the kids. Seehafer says if they can get more funding they’d like to hold more camps of this magnitude.

Thursday night, their parents ate a meal straight from the farm, picked by their kids. And throughout the process, the kids learn where this stuff comes from before it’s packaged.

“So, they’re making scratch lasagna and they’re getting to see that sauce doesn’t come from a bottle,” Seehafer said, adding the kids also are more excited to try healthy foods when they know they’ve made it themselves.