Kids love kale

Kids love kale!

This summer the young people at St. A&M have been learning about gardening.  We have our own garden attached to the program, where young people have watered the plants and tasted the delicious greens.  The young people have eaten kale, chard, lettuce, mint, and more green things that they watched grown from seedlings over the 5 week program.  The young people have also visited two different farms, Green Meadow farm and Farrington farm.  During these field trips the young people surprised the staff by recognizing different plants and sharing what they already knew about farms and gardens. After the trip to Green Meadow farm one of the young people turned to me and said, “Can we make our program a farm?”. 

Kids on tour of Green Meadow Farm

Kids picking peas and smelling wildflowers

Growing plants and eating fresh veggies is a fun way to get the kids to be active outside, but it also serves a larger purpose; it helps kids develop a positive relationship with healthy food.  Through growing healthy food, eating healthy food, and limiting the consumption of high sugar foods and beverages, we encourage children to develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.  

By Maggie Casey, Site Director at St. A&M

Maggie Casey is the site Director of St. Stephen's LEARN during the summer and for the year-round after school program. She has worked for St. Stephens Youth Programs since summer of 2015. Maggie is originally from Santa Monica, California. She attended Oberlin College and has a degree in Comparative American Studies with a concentration in Education. Maggie can speak Spanish, do math, and play basketball.