August is a last call for lazing at the Shore, making good on that camping trip, and sending thoughts of school out to sea. But as summer advances to the finish line, the harvest season is just getting started.
Local farms are flush with the fruits of their labor, and the parade of produce will march in step with the Fall. Think tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, kale, and Swiss chard, to name just a few. Plus, a number of herbs to take for a zest drive.
Just ask Adrienne Novak, Development Manager of Grow it Green, an urban farm in Morristown, which is gearing up for its annual community-wide fall festival with a name as crisp as its produce: “AlFresco at the Farm.”
This free family event is scheduled for September 19th from 3:00-6:00 p.m. with a rain date of September 20th.
The festival will showcase live music, free food, flower crafts, caricature drawings, field games, and educational stations throughout the farm. The event will also feature a gazpacho throwdown featuring four Morristown chefs and local celebrity judges, including State Assemblywoman Marissa Sweeney and Superintendent Anne Mucci.
“It’s really about community building,” said Novak.
It’s also about the children in the community, the “hands in the dirt,” behind the crops, and the overwhelming perks of working the land and getting outdoors in general. Harvest season is the perfect opportunity to get kids in the garden to see the results of their hard work. Growing your own food is a pretty spectacular reward.
A true grassroots venture, the one-acre Urban Farm is situated in the back of the Lafayette Learning Center on Hazel Street, providing students instant access to hands-on learning both in and out of the classroom. The organization also maintains the Early Street Community Garden and a greenhouse for year-round growing on the campus of Saint Elizabeth University.
To date, the Urban Farm has served thousands of youths across the Morris School District and neighboring towns, including some private and charter schools.
“Some kids may not have backyards to grow food or have never seen a live chicken,” said Farm Education Manager Kim Haupt, a Grow it Green alum, former intern, and volunteer. Yes, there are chickens, and even they play their part. From egg production to composting, and at the very least, entertaining the younger children.
Haupt, a.k.a. “Farmer Kim,” oversees the farm-to-school curriculum alongside her colleague, "Farmer Shaun (Ananko)." The age-appropriate programming engages children in grades preK-12 in farming practices and allows them to take ownership of the seeds they sow and watch them grow in real time from the classroom to their school’s own garden.
The immersion also introduces them to the food production process. “Food doesn’t miraculously appear in a plastic bag in a supermarket,” said Novak. A field trip to the farm proves just the opposite, and a taste test of ripe-ready produce may have the power to turn even the most vegetable-averse minds. “I’ll have kids say, ‘I don’t like vegetables, but I like these vegetables,'” Haupt explained.
Grow it Green incorporates sustainable and regenerative farming and pairs it with hands-on education that returns kids to the outdoors.
The return on investment is well-documented. According to the National Library of Medicine, young children who interact with nature are more likely to be engaged with natural places and grow into active adults, often with a better quality of life. Interacting with nature also comes with mental health benefits such as higher self-esteem, a boost to mood, and resilience.
In an increasingly virtual and sedentary world, free-range outdoor exploration has seemingly gotten lost in the shuffle. The hands-in-the-land concept of Grow it Green is changing that, one child and one vegetable at a time. Along with a PSA: “A little dirt won’t hurt.”
Hopefully, the grown-ups will agree.
Make sure to check out their Farm Stand @ 31 Hazel Street.
For dates/times & more information: www.growitgreenmorristown.org
Harvest season is the perfect opportunity to get kids in the garden to see the results of their hard work.