Eating Healthy - Elizabeth Green students learn valuable lessons

by Mark Jahne

Editor

Photos by Mark Jahne

Students at Elizabeth Green School are not just learning reading, writing and arithmetic. They are also learning how to make healthy choices when it comes to the food they eat.

Lyra Hedlund’s T-shirt says it all.

At the conclusion of a recent program called “Eat Local, Eat Healthy,” these youngsters visited the Rooster Co. restaurant in Town Center. They were accompanied by their families and teachers. The school selected this eatery because it specializes in farm-to-table and locally sourced food.

This program was sponsored by a state education grant. Ruth Chaffee and John Paterson schools also received grants for different projects. One of the grant requirements was for the school to partner with a local business.

Victoria Simoes wore a carrot costume to the “Eat Local, Eat Healthy,” reception.

“They’ve been learning the concept of farm-to-table dining,” reading consultant Amy Inzero said. “We are focusing on the essential questions of our reading program.”

Farmers were invited to come to the school to talk about what they do. One of them, Dale Young of Young Farm in East Granby, came to the reception with a bag of freshly picked vegetables to show the students how they look before cooking.

His farm is approximately 100 acres. He sells produce to the Rooster Co. Young and his wife were delighted to attend the reception and speak with students and their parents.

“We were a dairy farm originally,” he said.

K.C. Ward, owner and chef at the restaurant that opened 11 years ago, also visited the school and treated the students to freshly baked cornbread. Partnering with Elizabeth Green on this project is something he enjoyed.

Tekume Obi came dressed as a strawberry.

“I’ve done stuff with schools over the years. Engaging with the community is a big part of what I believe a restaurant should be doing,” he said. NL