BY MARCIE ASARO
During the last five weeks, my first-grade students at the EB Early Education Center in the Summer Early Focus program have been studying how food brings us together. Our guiding question for the unit was: “How does the food system we are building help create community?”
Throughout this time, the students learned about food justice and affordable, nutritious food access for all. To see this in action, our class took a community walk to three local businesses: Carmella’s, A & L Bakery, and Eastie Farms.
The children were met with such kind and friendly faces at every stop and asked wonderful questions:
Carmella’s: When the students asked owner Nick, “How do you support our community here in East Boston?” he replied, “I give back to school functions and donate pizza and other types of sandwiches to schools. If your school was having a special occasion, I would be more than happy to donate to help my community of young learners.”
A & L Bakery: When asked by the students, “Do you help support our community?” owner Rita answered, “Yes, I give to the East Boston oup Kitchen and special holiday events around Christmas and Easter time.”
Eastie Farms (on Summer Street): Two young gentlemen were hard at work keeping up with the garden when we stopped by. They invited us in, let the students explore, and described what they were growing. The students asked if anything was ready to be harvested; four carrots were ready, so four lucky students were able to pick them! When the children asked, “How does Eastie Farms help families in East Boston?” one of the farmers explained, “Eastie Farms has many programs. We partner with schools around our community, and we also have programs where we show families how to start a garden in their own space. Since East Boston doesn’t have much land, we show people how to use the space they have to grow their own nutritious fruit and veggies so they have access to healthy foods.”
I would like to sincerely thank these three local businesses for opening their doors and gates to my students, donating special treats, and simply being there for our community when we need them.
Throughout this process, the students even built their own model food systems using boxes to demonstrate how they would help their community. We had so many wonderful student-generated ideas, including:
An elder care convenience store, a bakery, and a free-bites restaurant.
An Asian restaurant and an Asian convenience store with affordable prices for all.
A shelter and food pantry providing a safe night’s sleep and food to eat.
An ice cream store that children can easily access.
A donation bank where people can drop off nutritious food for others to take.
A fancy restaurant featuring a donation-based payment model.
I am super proud of the students and how much they have learned over these five weeks. A huge shout-out to our community for opening your doors, donating treats, answering questions, and showing our young learners how to give back to East Boston and find resources if needed!
