On Kids and Carrots

Marra Farm is a place that defies stereotypes. The word ‘farm’ even takes on a new meaning when applied to our little agricultural oasis in South Park. The images associated with that word—solitary, quiet, pastoral—dissolve when you step onto our farm.

Truthfully, it can be a little chaotic. Kids from Concord International Elementary or the South Park Community Center running around; a few dozen of our 1800 annual volunteers working and digging and planting; planes, trains, and cars filling the air with that distinct urban din—it’s not at all what you would expect on a farm.

So, true to form, Marra Farm manages to do what many parents thought impossible: it makes kids love vegetables. It's a bold statement, we know. But it’s a hard thing to deny when a 5-year-old, while pulling one carrot out of the ground and simultaneously munching on another exclaims,

“I WANT TO EAT ONE MILLION CARROTS!!!!”

And when you think about everything these kids experience throughout the growing season, it makes perfect sense. They dig in the dirt and plant seeds. They water to their heart’s content, and then they watch their little plants grow.

They harvest the veggies themselves—chard, sweet peas, carrots, broccoli—and help prepare a snack especially for them. Today, it’s Chinese Veggies and Rice, and it’s a hit.

We can’t help but wonder, then, if all children are secretly veggie-lovers. It appears the only thing kids need is a little involvement in their food—planting a seed or chopping a leaf—anything to make it more fun, more exciting, and more delicious. After all, if we can get a 3rd grader to eat kale, the sky truly is the limit...

For more information on gardening and cooking with kids, check out these amazing projects:

Lettuce Link's Seattle Community Farm, GRuB: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities, Seattle Youth Garden Works , Seattle Tilth, The Edible Schoolyard Project

~Jessica, Harvest Against Hunger Summer VISTA