Page 7 - Nourish.pdf

“The sensual pleasure of eating beautiful food from the garden brings with it the moral satisfaction of doing the right thing for the planet and for yourself.” – Alice Waters, Chef
Back in the mid-90s, students and teachers at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, CA, dug up a neglected asphalt and debris- scattered playground to make way for an organic garden. Today, sixth, seventh and eighth graders grow their lunch on the one-acre Edible Schoolyard (www.edibleschoolyard. org) and prepare and eat it in the kitchen-classroom. Observers
say students gain appreciation for nutritious food and dining together, learn how the natural world sustains us, and more.
“From the garden and the kitchen and the table, you learn empathy–for each other and for all of creation; you learn compassion; and you learn patience and self-discipline,” states Alice Waters on the organization’s website. Waters is founder of the Edible Schoolyard and perhaps America’s most notable chef. She advocates locally, organically-grown food, biodiversity and the traditional family meal. She is a prominent spokesperson for the “Slow Foods” movement (www.slowfoods.com), and an inspiration for Franco Diamond, Administrator at Idylwood Care Center in Sunnyvale, CA., who believes nursing home residents can contribute as much as anyone to environmental sustainability and the greening of America.
“I want residents to be seen not just as individuals to whom something is
always given, but as people who give back by teaching someone else... some of our elders are the authority on growing things,” he says.
Egged on by memory of how Mrs. C came out of her shell to teach about Fava beans (see Soups On!), Diamond had several lofty goals in mind as he eyed a small patch of ground between Idylwood’s two residential buildings.
• An organic garden where residents grow produce for
their group cooking
activities and the facility’s regular menu. Food needs beyond what the garden provides would be purchased from local growers;
• A farmers’ market where residents sell some of what they grow while mingling with folks from the broader community;
• An intergenerational program for children to come to Idylwood and learn gardening from residents and how to be at ease with the old and disabled.
• A cornucopia of garden parties and food-related celebrations to bring visitors of all ages to Idylwood to learn about food and nutrition, and to build community among staff, residents and their family members.
Residents Gardening at Idylwood
by Keith Schaeffer
GROWING THEIR OWN
“A lot of us are looking for that little space where we can see something grow. When you are in a nursing home, a lot of that opportunity is taken away.” – Franco Diamond
Familiar and meaningful to most elders, gardening has proven highly therapeutic for institutionalized people of all ages. Mrs. C wouldn’t budge for bingo and the usual planned activities, but her eyes lit up when it came to growing and cooking Fava beans. Staff began expanding Idylwood’s edging garden with key input from Diamond, the registered dietician, the food service manager and the activities leader. Believing they had reached the limit of their agrarian skills, they hired a horticulture therapist to carry it to the next level. (see Horticulture Therapist Unlocks...)
As a result, says Diamond, “We’ve taken a weed patch and created a beautiful garden.” Now, residents can take part in the entire food cycle from planter-box construction to tilling, planting, harvesting, chopping, cooking, eating and composting. Like students at Martin Luther King, Jr., they share the fruits of their labor and learn about each other.
For example, Horticulture Therapist, Leigh Ann Starling, is capitalizing on the diversity of cultures represented by staff and residents, who often give her seeds from their native lands. Come Spring, theme gardens highlighting plants from various regions of the world - like Mexico, Russia, Philippines and India - will
©2008 Action Pact, Inc.
7
www.culturechangenow.com