Guest bloggers: Seth O’Bryan, Commons Director, and Lisa Barker, Food and Farm Coordinator
Recently, students from The Harley School and World of Inquiry School gathered on a Saturday to participate in the second edition of ‘Common Plate.” This experience consists of small groups of students from both schools working together from start to finish: receiving a box of food from the Good Food Collective, researching recipes, and then cooking food using the GFC box and their chosen recipes. Once the cooking is complete, the small groups present their creations to the whole group, and together everyone eats and enjoys a wonderful meal as they recap the day.
This fall’s GFC food box included fun seasonal foods such as apples, squash, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, and rosemary. Teachers supplied pizza dough so that students had the option to make pizzas as a main dish. Additionally, World of Inquiry students provided produce and herbs from their school garden, and Harley students brought a sauce they made that week in their Food and Farm 101 class from the Micro Farm harvest. The use of the Good Food Collective for food item sourcing was purposeful, as both schools value sustainable agricultural practices and work with students to learn more about sustainability in general. It was a powerful learning and bonding experience for all students; once again, it was evident that food is a remarkable tool for bringing people together, helping people learn about commonalities and differences. The schools plan on having the Common Plate occur seasonally throughout the year in alternating locations.