During Art Garden Week II, I was photographing a group of kids and adults digging potatoes out of the garden when I noticed a man standing at the edge of the garden watching. I recognized him as someone who has been stopping by to get coffee and to use our phone to search for an apartment, and I went over to chat with him.
“What are they doing? Are they getting potatoes? Are there a bunch of potatoes in there?” he wondered.
“Yeah, there’s a whole row of potatoes back there. We’re digging them up this week because we’ve got our children’s program going,” I told him.
“So they’re under the ground. I’ve never seen where potatoes come from before. That’s why I’m watching so close. I’ve never seen anything like this before. So they’re under there and they just keep getting bigger and bigger until you dig them up?”
“Well, they get bigger, but then the tops die, like the ones over there 
where the leaves are getting yellow. That’s usually when you dig them up. We’re doing it a little early.”
He watched a little longer, happy to have learned something new.
Later that week, Dixie reported that one of the children in her group said: “I never knew it would be so fun to dig potatoes,” while another boy excitedly reported to his mother: “Today at Patchwork I got to cut up potatoes!”
In another example of Patchwork helping to connect people and food in multiple ways, Bill Hemminger was featured in a nice story on Channel 14 News (click here to watch it). The story is about the large garden he coordinates at the University of Evansville and includes his thoughts on food and eating food grown locally. Since some of the food is distributed through local food pantries, the story also includes a cameo appearance by Patchwork’s food pantry and Darlene Blagg!
In a final example of food connections comes from Cooking Week during which Paula taught a big group of kids and teens how to make a meal. Each day, the group made another part of a meal that they served to special guests on Thursday. That day, the children worked as waiters and also provided the entertainment. We had live music and stand up comedy. It was great.
The week also included a field trip next door to the River City Food Co-op. There, two boys commented to each other while standing in the bulk room surrounded by organic food, granola, dried fruit, bulk snack foods, tea, spices, herbs: “This place is so cool!”
2 thoughts on “Connecting People and their Food”
great to read this, as these comments were new to me. :O) I have one for you. My friend whose son Eli came to cooking week had just finished a summer at crossroads “arts smarts” camp. catchy name , huh? he had a great time there. but she said he enjoyed the cooking week at patchwork even more than the cooking week he had just attended. the mom was impresses with how healthy the food choices were, as well. She said he helped to provide the entertainment, and put together a stand up routine for it.
great to read this, as these comments were new to me. :O) I have one for you. My friend whose son Eli came to cooking week had just finished a summer at crossroads “arts smarts” camp. catchy name , huh? he had a great time there. but she said he enjoyed the cooking week at patchwork even more than the cooking week he had just attended. the mom was impresses with how healthy the food choices were, as well. She said he helped to provide the entertainment, and put together a stand up routine for it.