Sit back and enjoy food, topics and trends that start on California farms and ranches. take 5
Farmers market fun with kids
A trip to the farmers market is a great way to get outdoors and find food that is fresh and nutritious. But if your kids get bored and start complaining or roughhousing, a pleasant outing can turn into a chore. The good news is there are a few simple ways to make a market visit a fun, kid-friendly learning experience. With a little planning, you can even turn each trip into a game or competition among siblings.
1.
Try something new
Tap into your kids’ natural curiosity and encourage them to explore and expand their horizons. Have them try free samples and then ask the farmer about what they are tasting. More specifically, challenge them to find at least one fruit or vegetable they have never eaten—such as these fingerlimes—and
then ask the farmer how to eat it or cook with it. Then, buy some to take home and try, using the farmer’s recipe or tips.
Find the food types 2.
Before arriving, give them a list of different categories of foods and have them pick out something from each category. For example, they could find foods grown underground (such as potatoes, turnips or carrots), on trees (walnuts, peaches, oranges) or on bushes (eggplant, peppers, zucchini), or foods that are leaves (lettuce, spinach, chard), flowers (cauliflower, artichokes, cabbage) or seeds (peas, beans, corn). Keep the list and each week challenge them to find a different food from those of
previous weeks. Soon, they will learn what foods are grown locally in each season.
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May/June 2022
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