Teaching Kids About Local Food Systems

California crops including grapes, strawberries, asparagus, and winter squash are highlighted in this free series of lessons about local food.
Image courtesy of the Center for Ecoliteracy.

Berkeley’s Center for Ecoliteracy announces the release of a series of hands-on lessons about where food comes from and how it gets to our tables. Available at no cost, Abundant California provides ten lessons designed for grades 3–5. Its focus is on local food systems, highlighting popular California crops and the specific phases of growing, harvesting, seed production, processing, storing, transporting, marketing, and eating. Suggested timing for the lessons coincides with peak freshness of each crop, and lessons are connected to Next Generation Science Standards, California History and Social Science Standards, and Common Core State Standards. Along with a variety of hands-on activities, educators will find resources and suggestions for extended learning. Download the free series: here.