Teaching children about where their food comes from is a powerful way to help them cultivate lasting connections and appreciation for our precious and complex food system.

It’s never too early to take kids to visit a garden or farm, to explore with their senses and create sweet memories. You can see how intrigued my granddaughter is by the fruit growing on the bush. I hope she’ll remember the sights, smells and sounds of the farm when she’s older.

Here are a few ideas to get you started learning about where food comes from:

Do some research with your children and find out what’s in season near you at different times of the year.
During the growing season, arrange an outing to a local farm to pick some food. Notice how the food grows on the plants and how much work is involved in harvesting it.
Chat with a farmer at your local market and ask them to tell you about what they do.
If it’s not currently growing season, explore a fruit or vegetable you have on hand and see if you can notice where it was attached to the plant. See what else you can notice about how the food grew.

Share a photo or drawing of your family picking food on a farm, or of something you noticed together about how food grows! Don’t forget to tag us on social media using @rainbowplate or #rainbowfoodexplorers!

For more ideas about how to spark curiosity in your Rainbow Food Explorers, check out the Rainbow Food Explorer’s At Home ebook!

Sparking curiosity