... During the five-week program, kids learn cooking skills, nutrition, and why food from local sources has a lesser environmental impact. During the five-week program, kids learn cooking skills, nutrition, and why food from local sources has a lesser environmental impact. Food scraps from recipes such as fruit smoothies, tomato and mozzarella sliders, multigrain crepes, blueberry cobbler, and other recipes are composted. Deliso, who cofounded Kids Cooking Green with fellow Lexington resident Liza Connolly in 2006, said the entire family benefits from the program’s lessons in decision-making for a healthier body and environment. “I hope kids walk away with a love and appreciation for food and cooking,” said Deliso, who is also a cofounder of the Lexington Farmers Market. “Empowered with the knowledge, they can make a difference.” For more information, visit www.kidscookinggreen.com.

Liza, who worked as a chef for more than a decade, helped start the farmer’s market in Lexington seven years ago and was looking for a way to bring the healthful lessons of that vibrant food setting to elementary schools. After a yearlong partnership with Spoons Across America, a national culinary arts program for children, she and her work partner, Lori Deliso, split off to focus on Boston-area schools.

Now in their fifth year, Kids Cooking Green charges $175 for fifteen hours of class and a dinner for a family of five. The five-week programs are offered twice a year in five suburban schools and through three recreation programs. Their focus is on healthy foods, local agriculture, and eating seasonally. Kids dig into the ingredients and get their hands dirty…which is essential, says Liza.

“In the first class,” she explains, “we’re cutting up local apples and cheese for a snack. Then we make fresh pasta.” Their handmade raviolis are sent home and shared with their family. And because the kids have bought into the process, they push for the same kinds of foods at home. That’s when shopping choices begin to shift.

Says Liza, “Parents make changes when their kids are preaching.”

She and Deliso hope to expand the program to at-risk children in Boston. Grant writing is time consuming. But her passion is strong and her understanding personal.

“The only things I have ever learned in my life I have done with my hands. Now,” Liza adds, “we’re teaching kids to listen to their bodies.”—M.H.B.

... so we spent the first half of our visit in the farm kitchen learning how to slow roast a pork shoulder for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. The chef also taught the kids how to slice a head of cabbage and mix up a creamy buttermilk dressing for homemade coleslaw. One comment heard from the table of kids devouring their "snack" was: " I'd like this for an after-school snack everyday!" Another child commented that they didn't eat pork, but after learning how to make it and smelling the warm aromas emanating from the country kitchen, he found himself tasting it and gobbling this nurturing treat. Amazing what involving a child with the food making process will do!
With sated bellies, our pack of kids were herded down the stairs towards the sheep barn. Alec, the farmer could hardly get a word in edgewise, as the sheep were hollering and bleating with excitement; it feels earthy, chaotic and unruly in there.
Our stop in the goat barn was more soothing, as the goats proved to be very dog-like, following the children around and nudging them with their noses when more attention was desired. Kids fed the goats stacks of hay and scratched under their silky chins. The male, who has a pen all to himself as he is kept for breeding, was really funny... doing little reindeer like leaps to show how macho he was.
The hearty breeds of pigs on the farm were typically pig like- sloshing in the mud, pushing each other out of the way with a shoulder and grunt. It is really hard to drag kids away from a smelly pig pen. Wide-eyed, they glared at the pig's fascinating movements, unabashed messiness and massiveness of their bellies. One student from Bowman commented, "I really enjoyed seeing the 800 pound pig! It was so amusing watching him walk around and mess with the other pigs." A few girls acknowledged feeling guilty for eating pork a moment before.
Alas, this is one of the reasons Kids Cooking Green emphasizes farm visits as a part of our program. We, as a country, are protected from the reality of how our food is grown, raised, processed, slaughtered and brought to market. Kids in our classes are exposed to farm life, taught about the benefits of livestock grazing on a variety of grasses vs. the corn and grain feed of conventional cows. Cooking and eating meat at the farm gives kids the opportunity to taste the difference, as well as draw their own conclusions about the meat they are eating. One of these students did return home and mention she might like to be a vegetarian.
The finale of our visit was being laughed at by the turkeys while learning about the grazing cows, recently returned to their field. An 11-year-old boy, from Lincoln, appeared out of nowhere, scampered up and over the cow fence to join Alec in the pasture. Apparently, any one is welcome to come and help feed the animals and collect eggs. Envy washed over our students faces. I left wishing there was a farm across the street from my house, so my 11-year-old son could take a much needed break from the pressures of homework, to find solace in a goat barn, in the smells of hay, and the gentle nudges of a 4-month-old kid.