Farm Field Trip for Foods Class
by Morgan Crist
Mrs. Angie Broderson’s foods and nutrition class took a field trip to Pfanny’s CSA Farm in Randolph to learn about the process of growing fresh produce on Wednesday, September 20.
At the farm, the foods class learned about the process of growing produce year-round and the equipment necessary to do so. Their main goal was to learn about the process of farm-to-table for their thematic project, which was one of the reasons for taking the trip. Owners Gene and Julie Pfansteil spoke about growing fruits and vegetables using wind tunnels, as well as water use and Gene’s plans to make his own water tower for the water pressure use, and the amount of nutrients in rainwater.
The trip was inspired by Mrs. Broderson’s want for the students to learn how easy it is to cook from fresh produce and how readily available that produce is. This goal was met as she believed the biggest takeaway from the experience was the students’ learning the importance of food production as well as how easy it is to cook from scratch.
Mrs. Broderson said, “I enjoyed the students engaging independently with the producers and taking interest in the process.” The trip will be offered to future foods and nutrition classes, as it went well with this year’s class.
Next week, Julie Pfansteil will be teaching the class about preservation and dehydration for the thematic project of farm to plate. At the end of the semester, the foods class will be preparing potato soup for sampling.