WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — A non-profit in Whatcom County is helping school kids get their hands dirty – in a good way – teaching youngsters about food, how to grow, and prepare it.
“Our mission is to connect students in Whatcom County with healthy eating through joy and fun out in the gardens and at the table and in the kitchen,” Emily Hie, program director with Common Threads Farm, said.
The group is a Bellingham-based non-profit that’s been getting future gardeners started at an early age for nearly 20 years.
And they’re doing it with school gardens, a seed-to-table approach to growing and preparing nutritious food.
“Every garden lesson is tasting something and trying what we call an ‘adventure bite,’” Hie said.
Kids grow ingredients in school gardens and then prepare them in the classroom.
“The kids really look forward to getting creative with ingredients, they look forward to trying things. The teachers will pass by a classroom having a cooking lesson and be like, ‘I smelled this from down the hallway, and I need to come see what’s happening,’” Hie said.
KIRO 7 met with Common Threads Farm at Birchwood Elementary’s garden. The group has 24 school gardens across the county.
“Oftentimes, we think, ‘Hey I gave my kid broccoli to try and they didn’t like it, so they just must not like broccoli.’ But they need some time to touch that broccoli and smell it, play with it, and experience its different forms before they might even be ready to taste it,” Hie said.
Hie added that they’ve planted gardens at schools where there’s a high number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches.
“44% of households in Whatcom County experience food insecurity, which is kind of a staggering number to hear,” Hie said.
Last year, Common Threads reached nearly 3,800 students across five school districts.
They also have a food truck program going into underserved neighborhoods.
“Our food truck program goes to low-income housing sites where all of the residents are going to experience barriers to food access and we provide a stable weekly service,” Hie said.
Common Threads Farm is now prepping for the coming school year, with more growing and taste-testing with kids.
“If we can get them unafraid of trying new things and it’s more of a joyful thing than a pressure thing, then their whole life they’re going to be able to expose themselves to experiences that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Hie said.
Anyone interested in donating or volunteering can click here for more information.
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