By Rachel Davison • Photography: Davison Orchards

Many years ago I worked at a summer sports camp in Saskatchewan. Some weeks, we would bus inner-city kids from Regina to and from camp. I’ll never forget how one boy, looking out the window, asked me what all the yellow fields were. Surprised that he didn’t know, I explained that it was canola. “Oh, of course!!!” he exclaimed, slapping his forehead. “That’s where granola comes from!”
It is so easy to miss the importance of teaching our children about where their food comes from. I think often we just assume they know, or we don’t think to talk about it, or perhaps we are intimidated because we don’t know ourselves. So we just plop down a plate in front of them and expect them to eat whatever is on it. However, when kids are informed about the origins of their food it fosters curiosity and wonder, which in turn helps them to expand their tastes. It also gives them the tools they need to make healthy choices as they grow up.
My five children love asparagus! They start asking about it as soon as the snow melts and rejoice when I serve it up for dinner. Why do they love this intense vegetable that most kids can’t tolerate? I believe that it is because they are invested in it. In our area, asparagus grows wild along the public walking trails and around our own property. Every spring we go hunting to see if we can gather enough for a meal. Asparagus means adventure and time with mom or grandma. They look forward to eating it because they know where it comes from and were a part of the harvest.
I’d love to see this same kind of excitement in my kids about other foods, and I’m sure you would too. So practically speaking, how do we teach our children about where their food comes from and get them excited about expanding their diet? I recognize that not everyone has the luxury of growing up on a farm or even having a backyard garden. But I am convinced that we can all, no matter what our circumstance, learn about food and teach the next generation. Here are six ways to get you started:
1. Talk about food. When you are flipping through a picture book with your toddler, point out the cow and talk about milk, cheese and yogurt. When you are going for a walk and you see a chicken in someone’s backyard, stop and chat about it: “Look at the funny chicken! Can you think of any foods that come from chickens? That’s right, eggs and chicken nuggets!” Around the dinner table, ask the kids if they can name some of the origins of the food they are eating. You can even make it a game and see who can name the most.
2. Do some research. The other day, while we were baking cookies, my youngest child asked me where chocolate chips come from. I knew that chocolate grew on trees, but honestly that was the extent of my knowledge. So I told him I didn’t know much about it and we spent the next 30 minutes watching youtube videos of how chocolate is grown, harvested and processed. It was as fascinating for me as it was for him! It is healthy for our kids to see us admit when we don’t know something and for us to display a willingness to learn about the world around us.
3. Visit a farm. Here in the Okanagan we are surrounded by different types of farms, from vineyards to dairies, apple orchards to ranches. Of course, we cannot just pop in to any farm we want, but there are a handful of farms that are open to the public. Our farm, Davison Orchards (davisonorchards.ca), is specifically designed to educate kids about farms and food. One of the biggest motivators to opening our farm up to the public year after year is seeing children light up as they learn about where apples, pumpkins, pears and much more come from. Take the kids on a farm tour; don’t worry if they are noisy! No one minds! At our farm, tours run on Fridays and Saturdays in May and June and daily during the summer months. Bring the kids to a u-pick field even if you only pick three tomatoes. Let them get dirty, pet the goats and run wild, then use the fun experience as a launching pad to start conversations organically.
4. Shop with them. This one I personally struggle with. Who in their right mind would bring energetic kids into a grocery store when they could just put in an order online? But allowing them to get involved once in a while is a great way to expand their horizons. Farms that sell directly to the public or farmers markets are wonderful places to shop with your kids with an educational mindset, but grocery stores work too. My kids always run straight to the seafood section to watch the lobsters and crabs. Since we don’t eat a lot of seafood or live near an ocean, this is a simple way to broaden their knowledge.
5. Let them get involved in the kitchen. Allowing our kids to roll up their sleeves and dive in is invaluable. I can think of no better way to teach them what goes into their food and get them excited about what they are eating than by letting them help you in the kitchen. Yes, this will slow you down and create a bigger mess, but the rewards far outweigh the inconveniences. To help alleviate chaos in my own kitchen, I often allow just one child to help at a time and give them a specific and age appropriate task (eg. “Jane, can you crack two eggs into this bowl?”).
6. Plant some seeds. Regardless of where you live, planting seeds is a wonderful way to educate your children about food. This can be done by planting an entire garden to feed your family or by placing one seed in a cup of soil on the window sill. The point is to experience the magic of watching a tiny, insignificant seed transform into a living plant that, hopefully, produces some type of food. I’m willing to bet that your child will be eager to taste the fruits of your labour, even if it is something they don’t typically eat.
Children are naturally curious about the world around them. Fostering and feeding that curiosity in regards to food and where it comes from will reap many benefits. In the short-term, your children will learn many new things about the world around them. Over time they will become excited about trying new foods. And then, in the long-run, your children will become equipped with the tools they need to enjoy a varied diet throughout their lives and gain the ability to make healthy choices.
Rachel Davison, is a farmer and co-author of The Davison Orchards Cookbook. She lives on an apple orchard in Vernon B.C. where she and her family operate Davison Orchards, a multi-generational farm that sells directly to the public. She is passionate about educating kids on the wonders of where food comes from.