Summer Gardening and flash mobs

It is hard to believe that the school year is over! I had thought that summer would finally allow me some free time for relaxation, but of course with the late arrival of eastern Oregon’s growing season, it is all I can do to keep up with the garden. Rows of cabbage and broccoli expand outward, potatoes leaves creep up through the mulch, and squash plants emerge from the edge of every garden bed, pathway and unused corner. Weeds spring up everywhere. During free moments I munch on green beans from the greenhouse and I have even tasted the first of our (glorious) broccoli crop. I’ve found a nearly full-grown kohlrabi among the cabbage, although I could have sworn we didn’t have any seeds until recently. Unsuspecting students walking by the garden are sent away with bags of enormous spicy radishes and instructions to return for more tomorrow. Thanks to a happy accident, the compost pile is growing literally hundreds of pumpkin sprouts. Kindergarten help in the garden earlier in the year now surprises me daily with sunflowers popping up in unexpected places, and thanks to first grade nasturtiums and marigolds attract pollinators with their blooms. Today it is only a heavy, ceaseless rain that keeps my hands from the soil.

Although I was not sure I would enjoy working long hours in the garden without students, I have found it to be a wonderful opportunity for thought. Weeding offers endless hours for reflecting, planning, and maintaining my farmer’s tan.

Because things have been so busy, I have not had time to share much about one of my favorite activities to take place at this school this past year. 

In December, I helped North Powder’s 5^th grade class write and perform a flash mob in the cafeteria during lunch time for Dole Fruit’s annual Flash Mob contest. These students took this project very seriously, and spent hours writing lyrics, rewriting lyrics, and coordinating the performance. On a regular Wednesday when the elementary students sat down with their lunches, 5^th grade spontaneously stood up and sang about healthy fruits to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” The video we made does not adequately capture our students’ surprise as their peers interrupted a normally quiet meal with clapping, stomping and singing. 

Watch our flash mob video!

5th grade, flaunting their money and fruit cups!

We submitted the video to Dole Fruit, and this spring learned that North Powder won First Prize! Thanks to 5^th grade, we added $500 to the Farm to School bank account and 10 cases of fruit cups to the lunch line! See the Grand Prize winner’s video on Dole’s website (I do have to point out that it is not a real “flash mob”): Dole Fruit Flash Mob Contest winners. 

This project was so much fun I have recommended that it become part of the 5^th grade curriculum, facilitated by the FoodCorps service member (and of course their phenomenal teacher!) 

Cooking with Kids

Cooking for and with elementary students is hard work. Organizing a class of twenty in making something palatable can quickly devolve into chaos, and you always run the risk that they won’t like whatever you’re serving. Figuring out how to handle that is a lesson in itself.

Earlier in the year, 3^rd and 4^th grade helped cut and clean hundreds of pounds of the pumpkins they grew, 1^st grade learned how to make Baba Ganoush, multiple classes harvested over 150 pounds of beets, and recently 5^th grade ground their own cornmeal for colonial-style pancakes. Some of these activities have been more fun than others (the pumpkin cleaning marathon was definitely a mistake), but overall they've taught these students so much about the fun and challenges that come with working with food.

This week, 3^rd grade looked on as I made asparagus soup in my Vitamix blender with fresh, local asparagus. Students excitedly helped me pass out cups of the hot soup and waited expectantly to try it, but when they finally tried the soup there was silence. Several students quietly stood up and walked to the water fountain.

“Well, what do you think?” I asked

them.

“It’s really good, Ms. Estrem, but I just don’t care for it today,” one student said.

“I like it but my body isn't ready for it,” another told me.

Almost the entire class gave me a similar response. This might sound like a failure, until you recognize that not one single “eww,” “gross!” or dramatic face made an appearance in that 3^rd grade classroom. Although ideally my students would enjoy every food we try, their response to the asparagus soup was as satisfying as our most successful taste test. Their verbalization that they didn't like the soup today showed me how far they have come this year, by not rejecting it outright. I know I could go into that classroom tomorrow and make the same recipe, and they would try it just as willingly.

As the end of the school year approaches and I look back on all the activities we've done, I can see that it’s not any formal teaching methods or specific information that has brought this success.  Our lessons are often goofy, informal and messy.  We've sung songs, played games and colored in the classroom. My students’ willingness to try new foods comes from the fact that food has become an engaging and fun aspect of their education, and something that every one of them is capable of participating in. 

Asparagus Soup 

(I will attribute the lack of success with this recipe in the classroom to the fact that we had to make a dairy-free version. I like asparagus soup made with plain yogurt or a little bit of cream.)

1 onion

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound fresh asparagus

1 cup vegetable broth

1 dash garlic powder

1 dash pepper

1 cup milk

Saute vegetables, spices and butter and then add to blender with milk until creamy. Heat or serve cold.

Learning in Detroit

This past week, I was incredibly lucky to get to travel to Detroit to attend FoodCorps’ mid-year gathering. Although it seems like a strange place for one-hundred foodies from around the country to flock, I was surprised to find that we could not have picked a more appropriate location.

Detroit immediately reminded me of Gotham City. Steam gushed from manholes, and gorgeous Gothic buildings towered over our hotel in downtown. At the same time, Detroit’s wide streets were largely empty of cars and pedestrians, and in residential areas it was clear that more houses than not were empty and abandoned. Because of the power of the auto-industry, Detroit’s public transportation system is virtually useless, and as many as four out of five families do not have a car. There are no large-chain grocery stores in the entire city, essentially making it a food desert. Instead there is an ample supply of fast food and convenience stores. Detroit is simply a large-scale example of the problems that most FoodCorps members face every day- how do we make fresh food accessible to a population that lacks access, transportation and resources?  

Various field trips showed us that despite the depressing first-impression, there are many organizations already doing phenomenal things to bring food to Detroit. I went on the trip to Earthworks Urban Farm and Capuchin Soup Kitchen in West Detroit. This is an ever-evolving organization which serves breakfast and lunch at the soup kitchen, grows multiple gardens which provide food for the kitchen and to sell at farmers’ markets, and offers various volunteer and job training opportunities. We had an incredibly enlightening discussion about race and privilege, and the relationship those often have with non-profits, and had the chance to get our hands dirty planting in one of their gardens. Because of poor soil, we also got to see their fantastic and enormous composting operation that keeps their gardens healthy.

Discussions about race and privilege continued throughout the gathering as we explored the challenges of a non-profit organization with a majority of service members being young, white, college-educated women in their mid-twenties. Our keynote speaker was Malik Yakini, and here is a link to his latest article: http://foodandcommunityfellows.org/blog/2013/building-a-racially-just-food-movement

The most powerful part of this gathering for me was simply getting to sit down and get to know better the FoodCorps service members from across the country. It’s reassuring to hear that volunteers are having the same challenges at their sites in New Mexico or Connecticut as I am in North Powder, and to be reminded that despite my geographic isolation I do have an enormous crew of like-minded people supporting me. Although I still don’t know what I’m going to be doing in August, I came away from our trip to Detroit feeling rejuvenated and better able to take on the last three months of my term and beyond.

Oregon and New Mexico service members, at Eastern Market

February Trials

I hate February. It’s dark, it’s muddy, it’s depressing, and that is my excuse for not blogging during that time. But now March is here, the sun is out, and I’m spending a good chunk of my weekend playing in the greenhouse, so I feel capable of sitting down and recapping what’s been going on in North Powder.

Since the mud and ice maintain a strong grip on my little town, the past several weeks we’ve have to employ all our creativity to develop activities connecting students with their food without wading through snow. First grade pioneered painting with food dyes, and their fantastic paintings now adorn our new cafeteria. We used three different crock pots and filled them with onion skins, beets and spinach. Despite the resulting foul stench from cooking them overnight, we made some passable paints (amber, red and green, respectively) and painted our favorite vegetables. Can you spot the kohlrabi?

This semester I have started working regularly with the third grade class, and in the month of February they blew me away with their enthusiasm. We made hummus, and practically licked the plate clean. The next week we learned about where our food travels before it gets to our plate. We sourced some pears served on the salad bar from their farm in Wenatchee, WA, to the processing plant and then distribution center in Boise before coming to North Powder. These pears traveled a total of 560 miles to get to us, even though they grew on a farm only 273 miles from us. I was thrilled to learn students went home and shared the minute details of food processing, distribution and transport with their families.

Pears were the Harvest of the Month for February according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and I struggled to incorporate it into creative recipes in the cafeteria. My main attempt was a pear, arugula and bleu cheese salad that I knew the staff would appreciate but students would be skeptical of. Introducing new foods to students is all about presentation, and a funny hat and fancy-restaurant attitude was all it took to get students to taste, and in some cases, gobble it down.

This time of year it is hard to get much fresh produce in our area, and we have to take advantage of what is available. Egg plant was on sale from our food supplier, and so a case sat in our fridge for a week until I realized I couldn’t procrastinate any longer. This past week I mastered the art of making baba ganoush (an eggplant spread similar to hummus.) Third grade learned how people used to believe that eating eggplant made you go crazy, and that it was occasionally called the “apple of madness.” I suggested that perhaps this was because eggplant makes you feel so healthy and energetic. We made a batch of baba ganoush in my new blender, and students happily dunked carrots and crackers in the warm dip. As I was leaving the classroom, one student came up to me and said, “I can feel my legs getting stronger already!”

The final February trial I faced was continuing electrical problems in my house. After going a week with barely functioning lights and no stove, I had someone come take a look, and our house was essentially declared an electrical death trap that would require extensive repair (that it was unlikely to receive). Rather that deal with that, I have moved to an adorable little trailer about three blocks away, and revel in the glory of well-insulated walls, a hot stove and a view of the Elkhorn Mountains.

Baba Ganoush

Roast 2-3 medium sized eggplants until skin is charred and insides are soft.

Allow to cool and then scrape flesh into a blender.

Mix with:

1/3 cup tahini

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Blend until creamy and serve garnished with paprika and minced parsley on crackers or vegetables.

What's Next?

Even though, or perhaps because, the roads are coated in ice and my feet are perpetually frozen, it’s hard not to start thinking about summer. Packets of seeds are piled up in the greenhouse, and we’re resurrecting plans for a chicken coop and composting pile. My dog runs laps in the living room for exercise and dreams of the day the ice melts and we can hike the Elkhorn and Wallowa Mountains.

Along with making plans for the spring semester, I’m starting to look beyond. This week applications for FoodCorps 2013-14 serve year opened. I encourage you to spread the word, and I’d be happy to share my experience with anyone interested in serving. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbSMvLOJAko is the link to the new recruitment video.) Uncomfortably, however, I have to start thinking about some difficult decisions in my future; whether or not I am going to do a second year of service in North Powder.

I love my job here, and I honestly think North Powder Charter School is the best FoodCorps site in Oregon. The enthusiasm this Farm to School Program exudes makes anything possible, and I am so lucky to be here working with such energetic people. However, well into my second year of living in an isolated rural area, I’m not sure that I can handle year three. I deeply crave living in a well-populated area with friends, stores and entertainment near-by. My FoodCorps term of service ends in early August, and should I not take on another year I need to have another job to move into right away. (Grad school is in the cards for 2014.) I am applying for another FoodCorps term, but will not have to decide whether or not to commit until May or June.

Elk at the feeding station on a freezing cold morning

Although I don’t have a clear vision of my perfect job, I do know some things that I would like. I want to work in collaboration with other people, and less on independent projects (which is why I don’t think I’m going to apply for Oregon’s FoodCorps Fellow position.) I would love not being desk-bound, and to continue educating students in cafeterias and gardens, but I do not want to be a traditional teacher. I am very interested in helping schools and communities build infrastructure facilitating local food access, and the development and revision of agricultural policy to be friendlier towards small producers. Although my experience centers around food and nutrition, I am very interested in working on sustainability and farming issues along with addressing challenges of the rural-urban divide. And finally, the only reason I can think of which would induce me to leave Oregon would be if Michelle Obama hired me to be her Let’s Move! intern. That said, although I demand to once again live in an urban center, it doesn’t have to be Portland.

North Powder, and the Elkhorns in the distance

I am looking for any input my lovely readers might have on organizations I should learn more about, and most particularly introductions to people who work on sustainable food issues who would be willing to give me an informational interview about their job, organization and career advice. It was a brilliantly-timed informational interview with the right person that brought me to FoodCorps, and I can only hope I get so lucky again. I’ve started with EcoTrust’s Farm to School Program (my dream company), but want to learn about other food-oriented nonprofits in Portland. I want to know if there are any urban demonstration farms in Portland (like Montana’s Missoula Urban Demonstration Project), CSAs, or small scale food processors that might have either advice or job openings.

 I am available for hire in early August!

Ratatouille

Although it’s more fun to boast about my successes in getting kids to eat Brussels sprouts or be excited about kale chips, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that I win every time. There are always days, and foods, that despite my greatest enthusiasm and pep, simply don’t make it with our students.

This week we served ratatouille on the lunch line as a hot side which students were not obligated to try. Zucchini, tomatoes and various herbs made what I thought to be an appealing and delicious dish. Middle school students arrived first for lunch, and not surprisingly most of them passed on these veggies. One girl stopped long enough to look disgusted and say “Ew.” Somehow she escaped without having to pick zucchini out of her hair. I don’t mind students passing on the ratatouille, but such blatant rudeness left me steamed. One other student looked at what I was serving and said, “That’s disgusting,” which was enough for me. Every student who followed these two received a spoonful of ratatouille and a semi-enthusiastic lecture that went something like this: “This is ratatouille, just like from the movie! You don’t have to like this but you do have to try a bite and you need to be polite about.” Older students were also informed that any rude comments would result in the confiscation of their chocolate milk.

While I’m sure most middle- and high-school students didn’t try the ratatouille, the elementary students respond much more appropriately. A chorus of obedient “please’s” and “thank you’s” runs down the line, and when I wander the cafeteria many are willing to try a tiny bite and declare it delicious (although refuse to eat any more.) I had a long discussion with a kindergarten boy who was worried that if he tried the ratatouille he wouldn’t like it. I assured him that it was ok. “If you don’t like a food, do you think it’s polite to make a face and yell, gross?” Pause. “No.” “That might hurt my feelings. Instead, you can say, ‘Ms. Estrem, I don’t care for this,’ or ‘You know, Ms. Estrem, this isn’t to my liking today.’”

He tried a bite, which was followed by a dramatic face and a run to the garbage can. After some prompting, he told me that he didn’t care for the ratatouille. A smattering of students seemed to actually enjoy the dish, and three came back for seconds, to great celebration.

After a long week I was frustrated by the overall reaction to this meal, but now I’m more motivated than ever to come up with new methods for trying new foods.