Boys & Girls Club kids shred chard and kale to put in smoothies during their Harvest of the Month class last Wednesday. The kids participating included Ally Dignan, Abriel Ruiz, Isaac Garcia, Aiden Sifers, Julien Ruiz, Hope Fine, Jaida Garcia, Reilly Miller, Shaylea Iversen, Aspyn Sorteberg, Amaya Musselwhite and Bentley Miller.
Kale? Chard? Kohlrabi? Most adults say "eww" when offered those foods. Offer them to kids and the "eww" is just a bit louder!
That was the reaction at the Boys & Girls Club last Wednesday when program director Janelle Buxbaum explained to her group of kids that their "Harvest of the Month" class would be about those three foods.
Once a month, the kids are able to attend the after school class which is a program from MSU Bozeman that promotes eating locally grown foods. "It's a fun activity," Buxbaum said. "It goes through the cultural aspects of Montana. All the produce is grown in Montana and they learn about what can be, and is, grown here and what it tastes like." In the summer, the Club has a garden so the kids can actually learn how to grow the vegetables, and then eat them. The kale, chard, and kohlrabi used last week were donated locally by Alida Dore. The club also receives a lot of other generous donations for the program.
Buxbaum educated the kids on the health benefits of vegetables and had them try the stem of the chard and pieces of kohlrabi, to mixed reactions. The kids then shredded the chard and kale in order to make smoothies. Do we HAVE to put KALE in our smoothies? was the favorite question.
Americorps Vista Chandler Padgett and Boys & Girls Club assistant Natalie Deleon-Robles cut up apples, gathered yogurt and orange juice and helped make the smoothies, with assistance from the kids.
Not quite sure about the green color of the smoothie, the kid were brave and took a hesitant sip. Good! Really good! Excellent! Those were the most frequent remarks. There were also a few who didn't get beyond the first taste.
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