By Rose D. Chavez
The wonderment and awe expressed by the children when they learned (by harvesting, cooking, and sharing stories) about where their food comes from tells us that the children were able to make many garden to table connections during the Kids in the Mountain Garden Education program this summer.
Each week, the education program served between 15-20 children along with a family member. During the weekly sessions, the children had the opportunity to spend time in the garden learning about how plants similar to their own bodies need nourishment and care. They harvested vegetables and learned to prepare meals from a variety of Hispanic and Mexican dishes. They asked to learn how to make tortillas – two local elders demonstrated an Indigenous and Hispanic way of preparing ground maize while they cooked their own tortillas.
At the end of each session they shared with their families the taste and the joy of the meal. Pagosa locals brought their rich heritage of Archuleta County and shared them with the children and their families. The experience was grounded in community, nutrition, culture, place, health, and gardening.
The Food Coalition would like to give a special shout out to our partners Foundation for Archuleta County Education (FACE), Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA), the many community volunteers who served as instructors and the families and children that participated in the Kids in the Mountain Garden Education program over the last 4 weeks.
We are grateful for the support the community showed for this inaugural program and look forward to partnering in the future to support similar educational programming.
Rose D. Chavez, MPH, is Healthy Archuleta Advocate for the Food System|Food Equity Coalition of Archuleta County.
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