The Colonial School District’s (CSD) Community Penn Farm Education Program is back at Eisenberg Elementary School in New Castle.
CSD and Delaware Department of Education’s Nutrition Programs renew their partnership with the University of Delaware’s Nutrition & Dietetics Program on the Community Penn Farm Education Program.
On hiatus since 2019 because of the pandemic, the program is designed to introduce children to fresh vegetables. It includes a delivery of fresh produce to Eisenberg Elementary weekly - as well as educational sessions and food art activities.
The produce is farm fresh, organically grown food from the Colonial School District’s student-run farm at Penn Farm.
Kanir Malone, the Summer Program Coordinator, says "They can touch it, they can even possibly taste some of it, and we even make a recipe from that particular plant. This week we’re actually doing squash and corn, and we even have little recipe cards that we send off to the families so they can even try it at home and buy the ingredients at home."
The program features a mini-Farmers Market open to the neighborhood Wednesdays from 11am until noon at Eisenberg.
Malone reminds parents that the meal program is working a bit differently. "Many families are not aware that we are feeding onsite this time. They’re very familiar with the pandemic style where they could just pick up and go, but now the students - they have to stay onsite."
