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Photography Credit, Artisan Events |
When I posted about my son’s little league snack on Monday,
I could not have anticipated that it would generate so much interest! Jeez,
Louise.
I want to welcome those of you who are new to Little
Locavores. In this blog, I write about my efforts and those of my family to eat
well. I also often chronicle the work that I do as the Executive Director (or
head spear as I like to say) of Purple Asparagus.
Purple Asparagus is a non-profit that educates children,
families and the community about eating that’s good for the body and planet.
During the school year, we teach our flagship program, Delicious Nutritious
Adventures. Delicious Nutritious Adventures gets kids excited about fresh
fruits and vegetables through guided tastings and hands on cooking. In the 2011-12
school year, we visited over 30 Chicago Public Schools, providing regular
monthly programs in 18 of those.
As the school year comes to a close, we receive the most
charming thank you letters both from our kids and from the teachers, two of
which I’d like to share here.
First, from the kids:
And then from the teachers:
Dear Melissa,
We would like to take this
opportunity to say a heart-filled thanks for bringing the Purple Asparagus
workshops to Galileo. Our students
have loved every minute of the program.
They experienced new foods, tasted what they made and became aware of
the huge variety of local and organic fresh fruits and vegetables available to
them.
The presenters were friendly,
knowledgeable, and addressed all our students’ questions and insights. They were patient and understanding to needs
of all students. Each month they came
prepared to engage and challenge the children to try nutritious and healthy
foods.
It was exciting to see our kids
taste and love unusual fruits and vegetables.
At first we had our reservations, thinking they might not be willing to
try these foods, but were we wrong. Many
times students finished the samples and asked for seconds. More than once we had students ask the
presenters to write the foods down so they could ask their moms to purchase the
foods for them. Students also related their
trips to Whole Foods in search of these foods.
It is our hope that Purple Asparagus
will be back next year to offer our new first graders the opportunity to
experience this exciting and hands-on learning.
Our kids have brought their ideas and experiences home to teach and
share with their families. This type of extended learning is what we hope to
achieve when we teach each day. It has
been our pleasure to participate and once again, thank you so much. You have opened our eyes to healthy and good foods.
Sincerely,
Jack
Beven, Mary Mattson and Valerie Sarvin
Galileo
First Grade Teachers