From Garden to Table

Did you know that Food Miles are the distance your food has traveled since it was created until it reaches your shopping cart as a consumer? The longer the distance your food traveled to get to your plate, the greater harm to the environment, the more chances the farmer is losing out on profits and money is going to manufacturers, and the more likely it is that chemicals and other harmful substances were used to prepare the goods for long bouts of travel. It is beyond amazing to think of the sheer accessibility of food we have today as we browse through the supermarket. We have access to exotic goods including fresh figs, avocados, mangoes, dragon fruit and just to name a few. Enjoying the benefits of world trade should not certainly cause you shame, as buying these goods is simply enjoying the benefits of living in today's world. However, when possible, buy Fair Trade so that the the profits are at least reaching the farmers and those who actually go through the physical labour of growing, caring for and harvesting your produce. Reliance on this food poses serious threats to our sustainability as a city and greater country, and forces farmers to use alternative and unsafe methods of food production to ensure travel and shelf life. Buying locally produced goods and/or growing your own food will help to reduce your food miles significantly. Check out this great book from the Calgary Public Library entitled 'How did that get in my Lunchbox?" by Lucia Gaggoti about the story of how food travels from farm to table.

Many people think that growing your own food in Calgary is too challenging, not possible or not worth it considering the short growing season as compared to other warmer and more tropical climates around the world. Today, there are over 100 community gardens present in Calgary and the participants prove the breadth, quality and variety of produce that can be grown quite easily in our climate. This Saturday, August 9th at Kids Grow, we were very fortunate to have Poppy Innovations come out to facilitate workshops at both garden locations on nourishment from edible greens from the garden. Both adults and children were surprised to hear about some of the edible greens in the garden that are commonly thrown out. Did you know that you can consume beet, radish and carrot leaves? We've heard that they are all great in salads, beet leaves can be especially tasty in a casserole and carrot leaves make a mean pesto!



After an information session on the health benefits of consuming these commonly grown greens, we harvested some of our garden plot to make a delicious garden salad together. Ingredients included swiss chard, kale, beet leaves, spinach, sweet peas and raspberries. We then prepared a hearty vinaigrette made from red wine vinegar, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to dress our salad. After consuming our delicious treat, we made individual tea sachets full of freshly grown mint, coriander and raspberries to add to water for an alternative to sugary drink mixes we often consume during the summertime. We sincerely thank Sharon and Karyn from Poppy Innovations for coming out and spending the day with Kids Grow!

Poppy Innovations is hosting a 'Healthy Selfie' campaign. Take a selfie of you or your family engaging in a healthy activity such as gardening, eating healthful food or exercising and share it on their Facebook page. If your picture gets the most likes, you could win a FujiFilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera! Poppy Innovations also offers cooking classes for families starting in the Fall. For more information about the organization, please visit their website here.