116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Elementary kids dig weeklong camp about urban farming, food
CEDAR RAPIDS - Elementary aged kids are learning about local foods this week. As a part of a weeklong summer camp hosted by Matthew 25, a local non-profit, the kids are getting their hands dirty with planting and picking. They spend most of the week on an urban farm near downtown Cedar Rapids.
'There's different kinds, bigger and smaller, and it's just fun to try different foods,” fourth-grader Logan Liddiard said.
Monday they made their own salsa, Tuesday they picked peas and turnips from the garden, and on Wednesday counselors have strawberry picking on the agenda.
Other activities include learning about growing food, creating healthy soil, composting, and creating outdoor art.
Later in the week they will meet with a dietitian to make a healthy meal: pizza on a stick.
There is another weeklong session beginning July 27th.
Kenyon Sales (from left), 10; Chaley Brinkman, 10; Aiden Christiansen, 9; and Eli Jennings, 11, pull weeds in a future salsa garden during day camp in the Matthew 25 Urban Farm.
Liz Martin photos/The Gazette Meena Tate, 10, of Iowa City picks sugar snap peas Monday at the Matthew 25 Urban Farm in northwest Cedar Rapids. Third- through fifth-graders attending day camp this week are learning about local foods through hands-on activities, including working on the farm and preparing a lunch on Thursday with a Hy-Vee dietitian using produce from the farm. A second session of the camp will be July 27-31. In addition, one-day camps for those in kindergarten through second grade are schedule June 23 and Aug. 5. For more information, go to www.hub25.org/.
Logan Liddiard, 9, of Marion tries a sugar snap pea that was harvested Monday at Matthew 25 Urban Farm in Cedar Rapids.
Turnips picked by day campers are sorted in the Matthew 25 Urban Farm.
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