Fresh, local produce and your teenager part 2: U-Pick Produce

Local Grannys  Lori Threlkeld  2009

The weather has begun to look a bit like summer, part of the time anyway, and the fresh produce is looking as beautiful as ever. The time has come for simple, no-cook meals, salads and snacks. Choosing the ingredients for these meals can be a wonderful way to spend time with your teenager, and can be a great lesson for them, without ‘teaching’ them.

 

New Seasons Market has recently released a wonderful U-Pick Guide to local farms that offer a hands on approach to feeding your family. This little gem is packed with, a map, contact information, and tidbits about 62 local farms, and is available for free download from their website. The farms listed in the U-Pick Guide offer widely differing produce, ranging from apples and berries to pumpkins and watermelons, truly a bounty to behold, all grown within about an hour from Portland.

 

It is interesting to note that many kids who live in the city have never seen the place where their food grows, perhaps they have never even thought about where their food comes from, taking your kids to a U-Pick farm is one way of ensuring that they really understand that someone worked to make and grow the things they consume. Going to a farm with teenagers, to harvest fresh food can be such an enlightening experience, both for the teens and for their parents. It is amazing to see them connect with the place their food grows, and it is wonderful to know that they contributed to harvesting food for the entire family.

 

With so many operational farms in the area, there is bound to be one near almost everyone. The trip is really worth the extra effort it may take, just to breathe in the smells of a farm for a few minutes amidst the chaos of the city.