How to Teach Kids about Food Beyond the Grocery Store

Most kids in American schools think that food just comes from the grocery store. So a new curriculum for first and second graders gives teachers and students an opportunity to talk about the more complex reality. Jones Valley Teaching Farm, an urban farm in Birmingham, Alabama, uses the curriculum on-site and in schools, teaching students about everything from planting seeds to marketing produce. The farm also partners with Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi to tell the stories of people working in the food industry across the south. A version of the kit for older students is now in the works to make the curriculum available to more schools.