Getting schooled

Growing up, I naturally was taught the value of veggies. Fruits, too. But the garden at our suburban St. Louis home, while extensive, was full only of roses. My sister and I helped Dad plant a dozen or so trees in the yard, then just a few feet tall and now they tower over most of the neighborhood. It’s neat to watch things grow, to nurture them and enjoy the fruits (or flowers!) of our labor.

But I never had a vegetable garden, and I was warned away from the fruit on the crab-apple tree in our neighbor’s yard. In fact, nobody I knew in St. Louis grew their own food (that I can remember). The closest to it was probably the boy whose family owned a bison ranch. I can still remember the juicy bison burgers at one of our end-of-the-year parties. Yum.

So my connection to food and where it comes from is relatively new, and much of it is still in its infancy. That became especially apparent during a recent visit to Sherwood Montessori, where I followed a kindergarten class through the school garden as the students thanked each plant for its contribution to the garden, and to life. “Thank you, tomato, for making our pizza!” the kids shouted, mimicking their teacher Richie Hirshen (aka Chef Richie). “Thank you, sunflower, for making life beautiful! And for bringing birds to the garden to scatter the seeds,” they continued.

When Hirshen pointed to a squash flower and asked the kids not to pick it because soon it would become a squash, I had a sort of embarrassing epiphany. That’s going to become a squash? These kids know more than I do!

Back in the kitchen, Hirshen and a parent assistant were guiding the children through a lemonade recipe. Once again, I was impressed. At 5 years old, they know how to properly hold a knife (by making a “claw” with their other hand), they can add a “sprinkle” of something (using “fairy pinches”) and they communicate with each other (“I’m behind you!”).

The students help create recipes, including one for Sherwood Marinara (using the tomatoes they’re so thankful for), which is printed in their second cookbook published earlier this year. (Grow-Cook-Eat is available for $10 at Sherwood Montessori or by calling Hirshen at 828-8890.)

Hirshen, whose formal title at the school is Garden to Kitchen program leader, uses top-of-the-line kitchen equipment, paid for through a grant from Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign. Parents contribute foods from their gardens, too, and it’s also made possible, I think, because of the recent surge of interest in farm-to-table eating and knowing where our food comes from.

Curious about what kids back in St. Louis were learning these days, I checked out my old school’s website. Like Sherwood Montessori—and other campuses here as well—there’s now a teaching and kitchen garden on-site. I like this direction we’re taking, moving away from processed junk and toward more wholesome food choices. I only hope the movement continues to grow.