Field to Fork 4-H Camp was a success!

As farmland continues to decrease and cities grow, consumers are further removed from agriculture and where food comes from. Younger consumers are more likely to eat out or purchase prepared foods and less likely to cook at home. Many youth lack an understanding of our food system, as well as the life skills they need to purchase and prepare food. Gardening, cooking at home, and purchasing local foods instead of eating out are ways to not only help address rising obesity in our county, but also support local agriculture. One way we wanted to help address these issues was through a 4-H summer camp.
Last month, we hosted the Field-to-Fork 4-H Day Camp, a camp for youth ages 11 to 14. The purpose of this camp was to connect youth to agriculture and where their food comes from as well as build life skills for growing, preparing and grilling their own food. We had 10 campers and six camp counselors participate in the three-day camp.
We started camp off with team building activities where the group got to know one another. After that, we moved on to learning about gardening, gardening tools and things to consider when planting a garden. From there, campers were able to get hands-on experience with the gardening tools and we’re actually able to plant their own garden!
The second day of camp was jam packed! We took a field trip to visit 210 Cattle where Mr. Chris Tuten and Mr. Junior Tuten gave us a tour of a cow-calf operation. Campers learned about beef production, hay production and some of the steps ranchers take to conserve the environment while ensuring they are producing a quality product for consumers. Many campers had never even been on a working farm.
From there, we traveled to Johnston’s Meat Market where Mr. Hal Bennett gave us a full tour of the processing plant. The campers were able to learn about how animals are ethically processed and see it firsthand. Lucky for us, the USDA meat inspector was also there during our tour and campers were able to learn from him about how our food supply is inspected to ensure we receive a safe and nutritious product.
On the third and final day of camp, campers learned about different cuts of meat, food safety and how to grill. Each camper was able to grill fresh vegetables from the garden as well as a pork tenderloin! From the field to their fork.
At the end of the camp, campers filled out an evaluation and shared some of the things they learned:
“Our food does not come from a box and is clearly made from animals, most especially cows and others that produce meat. And that you can test your soil to see if it is good soil.”
“I learned how to grill my own food and how to plant a garden.”
“One thing I really liked about camp was grilling and going to the cattle farm.”
“I like we were able to have fun and learn new things and meet new people.”
“The USDA inspector keeps us safe by making sure there aren’t diseases in the cows.”
“The most important thing I learned is how to grill. I have a lot of my food grilled so it’s nice I can do it on my own.”
We hope to continue to engage youth in agriculture education and we look forward to continuing this summer camp next year! We are also very thankful for our community partnerships that allow us to do so!