Yesterday afternoon I stood amongst a dozen or so glowing high school students in a sunny garden on the East side of Portland. Over the last 4 weeks these students (plus the occasional others who showed up less frequently) met every morning at Fir Ridge Campus to work in the garden, the classroom and the kitchen. The grant I wrote several months ago (and received) funded the summer program. As I learned from some of the funders who joined us at the celebration, the funding represents part of the resources being distributed to projects in East Portland as part of the East Portland Action Plan.
This summer, the same students who regularly chow down candy and fast food for breakfast, learned how to grow peas, berries, potatoes, kale, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, beets and other commonly found garden ingredients. Not only did the students grow and harvest many of these plants, but with the enthusiasm of myself and some awesome assistants (staff from the school), students prepared incredibly healthy and delicious meals every day! Sure, some of the meals were loved more than others, but I think it’s fair to say overall that students ate their food pyramid-requested-share of fruits and vegetables at every lunch.
Along the 18 raised beds that volunteers and community members constructed in late spring, there also lies 6 or so fruits trees, a huge 12-person bench (constructed by students), an outdoor sink and when needed, a portable stovetop. We had ourselves a simple outdoor kitchen. We steamed, sautéed, boiled and braised. We prepared many fresh salads with our homemade salad dressings (ranch, blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.)
Beyond the confines of the outdoor classroom, we made various ventures to other exciting food projects across town. On one trip students spent the day at Food Work’s farm on Sauvie Island and harvested crops with high school youth from North Portland communities. Another day we went down to the Pioneer school and participated in a work party to help harvest and improve another school’s garden. And during the last week I organized a trip to Ned Ludd restaurant where students saw a lamb get butchered, learned all about the importance of sourcing local meats and toured the neighboring Short Cut farm to see the source of Ned Ludd’s 50-yards-away fresh produce.
Though it felt like the class ended too early with so much information and experience left uncovered, the celebration yesterday afternoon was fantastic. Beneath our tents sat a buffet of student-prepared foods, including crab sushi, fruits salads, smoothies and chicken and shrimp shish-ka-bobs. Student’s had friends and family attend, the principal and some school faculty attended, and of course many of the policy makers from the county and city wanted to see the food revolution they funded.
Thinking back on this opportunity, I could not be any prouder and satisfied with the program. I loved getting to know the students. I loved the commitment students developed for the health and beauty of the garden. I loved the pride and confidence our cooking class instilled in the students. And I genuinely hope that this program continues years into the future. The impact was very real for all of us. Yes, “From Soil to Stovetop” was a huge success.
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