Tasting Event for Cabbage

Objectives

• Offer an eating experience and the opportunity to try something new from a local farm.



• Increase awareness of the “Healthy Local Foods” message.



• Increase participation in the food service program.



• Create a positive food service experience.

Process

The day before coleslaw was on the menu, cooks made up a sample batch of the coleslaw recipe. Volunteers dished up 1 oz soufflé cup samples of the coleslaw and went table to table with samples, asking the kids to try the coleslaw.

Cooks were worried that students would not eat cabbage. Both cooks and students were very surprised at the extent to which many of the students were familiar with and liked the coleslaw.

Questions for Farmers

Farmers know their farms and their production systems very well. It can be difficult for them to realize just how little students may know about farming in general, life on the farm, or a particular crop or livestock. Here are sample questions that students may have, to help farmers prepare themselves for speaking to a class or at a school cafeteria.

• When do you plant and harvest cabbage?



• What kinds of cabbage do you grow?



• How many different kinds of cabbage are there?



• How are cabbage related to broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts?



• How big can a cabbage grow?



• How many cabbage, or pounds of cabbage, do you get per acre? (An acre is a little smaller than a football field.)