On a crisp fall day just before Thanksgiving, students at Mills River Elementary met with local farmers to thank them for their hard work growing food for their community.
Nine Mills River farms set up tables outside of the school cafeteria, and students delivered handwritten thank you notes to them on their way to a special Thanksgiving meal at lunch. The day kicked off with a video introducing kids to local agriculture made by the school technology specialist with help from teachers. Students spent class time writing their thank you notes (inspired by this Growing Minds lesson!) and learning how their favorite fruits and veggies grow.
Teacher Mandi Fletcher spearheaded the event; she was looking for a way to put a Farm to School spin on the annual Thanksgiving meal held at the school. “The main objective of the event was for the kids to put a farmer’s face to a product, because kids don’t know where their food comes from nowadays,” Fletcher said. “I wanted them to know that when they’re eating their broccoli, that someone worked hard to grow that broccoli. We also wanted to get parents involved as well — for them to know that there are people in our community who work hard every day to grow the food that we eat.”