Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne welcomed students from The Schoolhouse for a hands-on field trip so the students could experience first-hand what a real working farm is like.
The students were divided into two groups. Half the students headed to the greenhouse to learn about growing lettuce, kale, spinach, and Swiss chard while the other half went to check out the barn and milking cows.
Luke Daniels joined the group that visited the greenhouse first where he was excited to get the chance to harvest a head of lettuce that would later be used to make a salad for the students. Clare Stackpole-Mcgrath enjoyed visiting with the cows, at one point exclaiming, “One cow came over to say hi!”
The trip was a collaborative effort between The Schoolhouse and Bread and Butter Farm.
“With the farm being so close to The Schoolhouse, we thought it would be a great experience for the kids,” said Shayne. “The children had the opportunity to meet the milking cows and two young calves, as well as harvest vegetables for a salad, which they made and ate, accompanied by a selection of excellent breads made at the farm.”
Pierce expressed her enthusiasm about the collaboration as well. “We were thrilled to have the students from the Schoolhouse come to our farm! We think it is so important that kids are exposed to where food comes from,” she said. “These kids, and all Vermonters, have such a great chance to really learn about food and farming. We had so much fun helping the kids harvest 10 different veggies for their salads and watching them all eat spinach, radicchio, lettuce, kale, chard and more!”
Nari accompanied the students on their visit to Bread & Butter Farm. “This was one of the best field trips I have been on,” she said. “I loved that kids were trusted to use knives to harvest the vegetables. The teachers and parents all enjoyed watching the kids gobble up the salad they had helped to harvest.”