2009 Farm to You

Today was my first day of Volunteerism for the Master Foods Volunteer program. We helped feed a slice of Pizza to four groups of almost 200 children prior to their tour to stations where they learned about things the Farmers do to provide that slice of Pizza.

Here is a typical class lined up out side the Expocenter Arena.
How do you wash 800 little hands prior to letting them eat Pizza? Hand sanitizer.

In the calm before the storm, the pizza boxes were all in big black thermal bags to keep them warm. CiCi's Pizza served some great Pizza.

Each child got a slice of Pizza and went over to their table to eat. We served them Lemon aid and water. This was to help the process go faster and it was fun for me to get to see so many kids and hear Thank You.

The Master of ceremonies as the groups toured each display was our old friend and Past County Extension Agent, Phil Sell. He and his grand daughter get the award for best smiles.

The TV stations sent their weather men to discuss the effects of weather on growing crops. The kids love to hear about storms

Barb's Group was the Master Gardner's. they discussed the farm grown products in the pizza.

This is another Master Gardner talking to the kids about Tomatoes and Onions.

The Pork Producers knew what the kids would love. These pigs were young and fun to watch. They would also come around the pen and chew on any shoes that were stuck through the railing. Much to the delight of the others.

This fellow talked about animal health issues and had a great draft horse skull. He showed the kids needles and all sorts of things to inject the animals with drugs to keep them healthy.

What display would be complete without a good old John Deere Tractor. The kids loved it but they all wanted to sit on it and drive. Sorry, not allowed.

What display would be complete without a cow and her calf? She was really OK with all the noise and seemed calm with a calf that didn't quite to know what to do with all the noise.

How could you talk about Pizza without discussing grains and wheat in particular. For that $3.00 loaf of fancy bread, the farmer gets only about 7 cents for the grain in it. Next time you have a fancy sandwich, remember that the cost of the flour in that sandwich was probably a penny or less.

There was a display about chickens and eggs. Yes, brown eggs can come from brown chickens.

I had lunch with the ladies from the Water Display. They were talking about the environmental impact on water that the farm community is trying to make better. I mentioned the riparian area demonstration I attended in Lawrence a couple of years ago.

All in all, the demonstration to the school age kids was a great time for all. They got to have a piece of Pizza and then talk about all the ingredients from the farm that goes into their food. I'll probably be smiling until next week for all the fun we had.

MUD