“The focus behind this is to give the children an understanding of where the food we eat actually comes from,” said Kimberly Stover.
Stover is the organizer behind the Richland County Kids Farm to Plate and has been a member of the Farm Bureau for a little over a year.
“We really want to get the kids involved with knowing the basic food groups,” said Stover, “We also wanted to give the parents a break while the cooking demonstrations are being performed so they could focus on what was being taught.”
Stover wants to provide activities that help children learn about food groups while still having fun. “During the Kids Farm to Plate on August 3, we wanted to focus on the importance of fruit and vegetables. We helped them make smoothies and they got to pick what fruit they wanted. We had strawberry banana and peach honey smoothies. The kids had a lot of fun with that activity,” said Stover.
Stover also likes to keep the children active while learning. “We have had them do kids yoga and we want to practice dance moves at the next event on August 24,” said Stover. During the next Kids Farm to Plate on August 24, Stover plans on focusing on the importance of whole grains and plans to make salsa with the participants.
“The ages of the children who participate range between one and 12. The older children do help out with the younger children, which helps tremendously,” said Stover. “It really depends on the weather conditions on how many children we will have to work with.”
Stover has some events lined up for future Kids Farm to Plate events. “On August 31, we will be discussing the importance of eating breakfast and on September 14 we will display healthy snack choices. Eric Finn who is the Membership and Program Director of Shelby YMCA, will be participating with us during those activities.”
The last event will be held on September 28 and Stover hopes to have pumpkin painting available.
Every Kids Farm to Plate will be from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. while Farm to Plate is being conducted at the Shelby Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings.