Growing with Agriculture

Women's Institutes of Nova Scotia (WINS) recognizes the importance agriculture plays in all our lives and has always been an organization that takes special interest in promoting the importance of agriculture to children. Over the years many different agricultural resources have been created by WINS and distributed to children at exhibitions, fairs and through schools.

In 2001, WINS produced a new agricultural resource for children called, "Growing with Agriculture". The resource was a brightly coloured folder of ‘agri-facts' and a quiz designed for children, ages 5-10. It also included a package of pumpkin seeds. The purpose of the pumpkin seeds was to encourage the children to take a ‘hands-on' approach to learning more about where our food comes from and to watch and learn how a seed germinates, develops and produces food. The kit also included an entry form asking children what their three favourite Nova Scotian grown foods were to take in their lunch boxes.

Funding for this project was provided by Agri-Futures Nova Scotia and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

During the months of August - November 2001, twenty-thousand folders were distributed at the Maritime Fall Fair, county exhibitions and directly to schools by WINS members.

Over eleven hundred children entered the ‘Growing With Agriculture' contest and listed their favourite foods. Two hundred randomly drawn entries were chosen and those children received a nylon lunch bag, printed with the "Growing with Agriculture" logo.

Here's a summary of the 1172 entries received and the frequency of items listed.

Top Ten School Lunch Ingredients

Apples, by far, were the most popular food item in Nova Scotia School Lunches. Convenient and easy to carry in lunches, apples topped the lists in all Nova Scotia counties represented by contest entries. Many entries mentioned Gravenstein apples as their variety of choice.

Blueberries were the second most popular choice with many children listing the berry being used in a variety of ways; pies, jam and stirred into yoghurt.

Carrots were the number one vegetable chosen by Nova Scotian children. Carrots cut into ‘sticks' was a popular item in school lunches.

Strawberries, another favorite berry of Nova Scotia children. Whether it was whole berries or strawberry jam, this was a popular item in lunch boxes.

Pears were listed many times by Nova Scotia children as a convenient food item for lunches; easy to pack and carry.

Milk, a staple in school lunches, was picked the sixth most popular item. Chocolate milk was mentioned many times as a tasty alternative, with all the goodness.

Pumpkins were very popular and mentioned many times as being a favorite when cooked into pies or roasting the seeds for a healthy snack. Pumpkins were used as a theme throughout the "Growing With Agriculture" project and children liked idea of making Jack O'Lanterns from the pumpkins and then being able to cook the pumpkin and the seeds. A very popular and fun food item for Nova Scotia kids.

Whether it be mashed, baked, boiled or fried, potatoes are loved by children. Potato chips were the most popular ‘potato' item kids hoped for in their school lunches.

Corn on the cob or in ‘niblet' form was a favorite with the children. Although corn could be a more difficult item to pack in a lunch, it was still a popular choice for the kids.

Grapes, another ‘easy to pack and go' snack made the top ten list of favorite school lunch items.