Empowering children as changemakers

In 2014, Catherine Bell took to the TEDx Auckland stage, ready to share her story and inspire the audience.

“I have a question”, she began. “How many of you know what salsify is? Of those who do know, how many of you have seen it fresh? And how many of you have ever cooked it?”

She then proceeded to tell the story of a group of 9 and 10 year olds at a local school, who were not only aware of salsify - but they also knew how to plant, nurture, harvest, prepare and gently fry the creamy Mediterranean vegetable - one which few in the audience had even heard of.

“Here lies the subject of my talk - the loss of basic knowledge and skills in the garden and kitchen”.

Witnessing the loss of knowledge around where food comes from, how to produce it, and what’s in season, was the driver behind Catherine’s decision to start Garden to Table, back in 2009.

The goal was simple - to teach children to grow, harvest, prepare and share good food.

A lot has changed since then. But, one thing remains the same - here at Garden to Table, we remain as determined as ever to equip tamariki across Aotearoa with the tools, skills, resources, and knowledge they need to grow and cook fresh food.

Today marks International Children’s Day - and to celebrate, we’re exploring exactly how we empower children as changemakers, through the Garden to Table programme.

Over recent decades, we’ve seen a loss of knowledge and skills in the garden and kitchen - and this has had negative implications across our collective health, environmental, and social outcomes.

For example, we’re seeing an increase in childhood obesity, diet-related health challenges, food insecurity, and food waste*. Although loss of knowledge is not solely to blame, it has certainly played a role.

Without awareness of where our food comes from, we become reliant on packaged and processed foods - which are not only less nutritious, but they tend to come with a greater carbon footprint (as a result of the distance they must travel, and the accompanying packaging).

But, by teaching tamariki where their food comes from, and how they can grow and cook their own fresh, seasonal, and environmentally-sustainable food, we are able to empower them as changemakers, and disrupt these patterns.

*The New Zealand Health Survey 202/21, Ministry of Health / United Nations State of the World Report Card 2019 / United Nations Environment Programme, Food Index Report 2021 / Love Food Hate Waste Scotland 2021 / Kore Haikai - Zero Hunger Collective Aotearoa, NZ 2021 *Centre for Endocrine Diabetes and Obesity Research (CEDOR) at Capital and Coast DHB (2019).

By enabling students to learn about (and experience), the intrinsic links between the garden, the kitchen and the table, they are able to think about food differently.

After nurturing seasonal bounty, tamariki take it straight to the kitchen, where they learn how to cook nutritious meals from scratch. In doing so, they build the foundation for lifelong healthy habits.

Children then take their newfound skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm for nutritious kai home, where they are able to share it with their whānau, and boost family wellbeing. Having used full-sized equipment throughout the programme, this transfer of learning into home contexts occurs naturally.

Over time, as these lessons ripple out, the resilience of local communities is strengthened. This helps combat many of today’s pressing health, educational, social, and environmental challenges, in a holistic manner.

Our dream is for every child in New Zealand to have the opportunity to grow, harvest, prepare, share great food. Will you help us reach more tamariki around the motu, and empower them as changemakers?

If you wish to create real, lasting change in those children’s lives, then please consider making a donation to us via One Percent Collective.

Best of all, every dollar given is a dollar received. We get 100% of your donation.

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Reflecting on our annual Seedling Sale with Tui