By Jessica Lovell
jlovell@guelphtribune.ca

A unique classroom, equipped with about 10 stoves and sinks, buzzed with activity last week as a Grade 7 class prepared for lunch. But this was not just any lunch; this was a four-course meal made with fresh ingredients, including honey harvested from the same hives near where the students had their morning lesson.
These lucky students from St. Ignatius of Loyola school are a part of the Garden2Table program run by students at the University of Guelph.
“Our goal is to teach children about healthy eating,” said Katherine Peloso, the U of G student in charge of Garden2Table’s school program on campus.
The program started in 2009, and each year it is run by a different group of students, who earn course credit for their part in the program.“I always forget that, because this is just too much fun,” laughed Peloso.
Around her, the hungry seventh-graders were almost ready to take their seats to enjoy the fruits of their labour – a lunch of vegetable soup, grilled cheese with spicy dipping sauce (no ketchup on this table), salad with homemade honey-lime dressing and homemade chocolate chip granola bars.
The program was developed by hospitality and tourism management professor Bruce McAdams, with the goal of encouraging kids to make healthy eating choices by including them in the planting, growing, harvesting and preparation of the food.
The kids had already had the chance to visit the university’s Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming earlier this fall. There, they helped to harvest vegetables planted last spring by the previous Grade 7 class.
Their second of what will be four visits to the university was last Thursday’s visit to the test kitchen at the Macdonald Institute. This visit started with a trip to the apiary in the morning, followed by a cooking session with celebrity chef Chuck Hughes.
There is always a cooking element to the program, but this celebrity-led workshop was thanks to a “Real Food” grant of $10,000 from Hellmann’s.
The kids, as they raised their mugs of juice to say a toast to the chef, seem thrilled with the experience.
Beyond the fun the children were having, their teacher could see a couple of other benefits.
“It’s about, number 1, nutrition, and 2, harvesting what we plant,” said St. Ignatius Grade 7 teacher Susan Ormesher.
“It makes kids appreciate what farmers do for us,” she said.
And it’s not just the children who get that benefit.
“Being physically in the garden, I’ve learned a lot,” said Peloso. “Being a hospitality student, I don’t get to get my hands dirty a lot.”
This year, there are five U of G students involved – four hospitality students and one agriculture student, Peloso said.
They partner with two schools, the program having started with Grade 4 students from Jean Little Public School.
Co-ordinating events such as this lunch can be a challenge and takes teamwork, but watching the kids enjoy themselves is part of the reward.
“A lot of kids don’t get the chance to cook at home,” she said, explaining that these kids get to do more than just cook; they get to see how the food gets to the table.
And on top of that, “everyone looks like they’re having a good time,” she said.