The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

On fall field trips this year, students eagerly pulled giant beets from the field and filled bags with other fall crops to take home. Students exclaim, “I’m going to make a salad for my family!” or, “I’m going to give it to my mom, because she likes beets!” To which I respond, “But are you going to try the beets, too?” Hesitation usually follows. That is why we wanted to dig deeper, launching this year’s Sisters Elementary School cooking programs aimed at empowering students to be courageous eaters and embrace new experiences.

Cooking classes build on our goal to create a welcoming atmosphere that encourages everyone to try new foods, even if it’s just the tiniest of tastes. Studies have shown that children who are involved in food preparation are much more likely to try the new foods.

Teachers helped select recipes for their classes, collaborating on how best to highlight different math, science, and social studies standards (i.e. fractions and measuring, heating and cooling, and the cultural significance of foods). Second-graders whipped together beet pancakes with a sweet and a savory sauce one day, and seed energy bites the next. Third- and fourth-graders crafted Three Sisters Tacos, learning about the indigenous companion-planting method for corn, beans, and squash.

Please consider donating to Seed to Table’s Fall Fundraising Campaign to continue supporting these programs! Our goal is to have 400 individual donors by December 15, and currently, we are at 150. Any size of donation helps drive this community-driven organization! You can donate online at http://www.seedtotable

oregon.org/donate-today.