Until Next Year

Last week Food For Thought came to a close. Everyone was sorry to see this year's program end after so many happy and educational experiences. 

The participants' last day at Sancanac Farm was bittersweet.

Program coordinator, Bob Steiniger, planned a fun last day of activities: the Food For Thought Olympics! There were egg races, sack races, relays, and wheelbarrow races as everyone reflected on the awesome experiences of the summer.

On Thursday evening, parents, Food For Thought alumni, Triskeles staff, and friends of the program came together to celebrate the close of one of the most successful Food For Thought programs to date. Chef Lauren and her fabulous assistants cooked one last healthy and delicious meal. Participants were awarded their new levels of certification in cooking, business, and agriculture. Everyone is counting down the days until the start of Food For Thought 2015!

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Visitor's Day

Every year during the Food For Thought program, the staff and participants thank their generous sponsors and others by hosting them for a Visitor’s Day. This year, Visitor’s Day was a resounding success! A very diverse range of people showed up. There were representatives from the Philadelphia Waldorf School, Kimberton Whole Foods, and Chester County WIB, as well as independent friends of Triskeles.

The sun was out in full force and so were the teens, working on two farms near the Kimberton Waldorf School: Sankanac Farm and Seven Stars Farm. Senior staff took our visitors on tours of both of the farms, introducing them to the youth and talking about the program. Sebastian Kretschmer, the farm educator, was giving a lesson on planting leeks when the visitors arrived. Bob Steininger, the Food For Thought director, was there to speak about what young people learn during the five weeks.

In addition to farm experience, business, and cooking classes, participants get to choose an elective. The electives range from classes on food and culture to sustainable entrepreneurship. Young people in the FFT program learn a great deal more than gardening, cooking, and sustainable business practices – they learn how to work with others, engage their community and develop the skills they will need on the job and in the world.

After a tour of the farms, it was time for lunch. Everyone came back to Kimberton Waldorf School and the visitors had an opportunity to talk with the youth about the program. Chef Lauren and her assistants cooked a wonderful lunch of spicy vegetarian chili, pesto pasta salad, corn on the cob, vegetable soup, fresh bread, and pear and ginger cake. There was a great pause in conversation as everyone dug in.

Several people were impressed with the fluidity of the program. Forty teenagers knew exactly where to go and what to do without being asked. Half of the group went to their business class while Yvonne Post taught a lesson in cooking to the other half. Even the visitors learned how to make a tomato marinara sauce that can accompany a myriad of dishes. Ultimately, Visitor’s Day was a good experience for everyone. Food For Thought is a very unique program, and Triskeles is very grateful to every sponsor that helps make this program possible. 

Some photos from the day:

Participants sharing their experiences

Planting Leeks

Farm Educator, Sebastian Kretschmer (right) speaking about some of the curriculum for the program

Taking a break from all of the hard work!

Chef Lauren's assistants preparing a wonderful lunch!

Cooking class with Yvonne Post

The First Field Trip of the Summer

The Food For Thought participants went on the first field trip of the summer with team leaders Julia and McKenzie. First, they went to Kimberton Whole Foods and took a tour. Everyone met the founder of the store, tried local artisan goods like goat cheese, chocolate milk, and bread. They also had a lot of fun with a scavenger hunt that had everyone practice their label-reading skills. Finding a cereal without sugar on the ingredients list is harder than you think!

After Kimberton Whole Foods, the group loaded up and went over to Wegmen's in the afternoon. They did the same scavenger hunt, except this store chain was much bigger with less local and less organic foods, The kids noticed a big difference, but had fun scavenging through the stores. They learned the Wegmen's is set up like a village and there are store managers for each village. Kimberton Whole Foods is smaller and everyone in the store knows where to find everything, while Wegman's is much larger.

Here are some pictures from the day:

After a week of hard work, the entire staff got together to unwind and discuss the progress of the program. In the words of the Director of Youth Programs, Mark Birdsall, "The staff that plays together, stays together!"

Week 2 Begins

Food For Thought has been very busy during the last couple of weeks. With orientation and some icebreakers out of the way, the program is getting into the swing of things. There has been a lot of learning going on as well as fun. Here is a re-cap of some of the activities so far!

In business class with Mr. Scott, the kids learned about budgeting and understanding how to be financially responsible.

 Our farm educator, Mr. Sebastian, took the kids for a ride on a tractor and showed them how to drive it!

 Farm education is crucial to the Food For Thought program, and learning about farm equipment is part of this unique experience.

After a hard day's work, everyone got to take a break and enjoy a delicious lunch cooked by Chef Lauren. This day's lunch featured a hummus and zucchini sandwich, a cauliflower and broccoli salad, homemade fries with ketchup, a green salad, and for dessert a berry cake. All of this was accompanied by Chef Lauren's famous homemade bread. 

She's proving that healthy and delicious go hand-in-hand!

Week 1 Continues

Everyone hit the ground running during the first week of Food For Thought!

The students started out seeding various veggies in the greenhouses on the Sancanac Farm.

They also spent some time weeding a crop of sweet potatoes.

Team Leader Erica got to experience the outhouse on Sancanac Farm!

After a hard day's work, everyone sat down to a delicious and healthy lunch cooked by Chef Lauren. 

There were also lots of fun games like this one in which the kids had to try and run through the spinning rope without getting hit.

The entire staff is excited for the rest of the summer and so are the kids! It's going to be a wonderful experience for all involved.