*Ian McGregor oversees kitchen activities. Photo credit Morgan Buremmer.*

This time of the year is all about celebrating the harvest. Here at Teton Conservation District, we’re celebrating a Slow Food in the Tetons program that empowers 3rd through 8th graders to grow their own gardens and cook for themselves and their family using sustainable, seasonal, non-processed, and nutrient-dense ingredients.

For the second year in a row, Slow Food in the Tetons offered four week-long Youth Farming and Cooking Camps last summer. The 48 students learned about sustainable food production, farm-to-table style cooking, and healthy and nutritious eating. Campers practiced hands-on skills such as planting, tending, and harvesting vegetables, milling whole grains, composting, and recipe creation and recipe deviation. Campers also developed an understanding of the social and environmental impacts of ingredient selection and how to support local small-scale agriculture.

*Tending the garden. Photo credit Morgan Buremmer.*

Scott Steen, Executive Director of Slow Food in the Tetons, said that he hopes that “the model of combining cooking with gardening will instill long-lasting skills and values that have the potential to influence how each camper navigates the kitchen and supermarket for the rest of their lives.”

*Clean up time! Photo credit Morgan Buremmer.*

While the primary focus of the camp was to create delicious meals using ingredients from the garden, cleaning up after meals was a close second. There were always dishes to clean! The outdoor kitchen featured a three-bay sink system using hot water from the house and cold water from the garden hose. The most popular position in the all-camper cleaning crew was operating the hose for obvious reasons...spraying other people! “It because a camp tradition on the hottest day of the week to do a one-song-dance-party using the garden hose on full blast as a microphone, twirling and spraying until everyone was soaked, cooled down, and ready to move onto the next cooking task,” said Scott.

Teton Conservation District is proud to support small-scale agriculture projects like this one. To explore funding opportunities, visit www.tetonconservation.org/grants-and-assistance. If you’re interested in enrolling your child in the Youth Farming and Cooking Camps or in an after-school cooking program, visit www.tetonslowfood.org for information. Scholarships are available.