The field day outing that sounds like a Jamba Juice flavor fell, happily, on a sunny day at UCSC Farm. Hosted by Life Lab’s youth empowerment group, Food, What?!, the fourth annual Strawberry Blast took 300 middle and high school students from Santa Cruz County on a food education free-for-all on May 12, exposing surprising realities behind the food we eat and the equally surprising need for such outings.
“Even though we live in an agriculturally rich community, a lot of kids are still disconnected from the food,” says Food, What?! director Doron Comechero. “Instead of a strawberry, it’s a strawberry Pop Tart.”
The Pop Tarts didn’t stand a chance last Thursday. The Blast experience began with students being guided to the middle of an organic strawberry field and then asked to pick a berry, eat it and describe the experience. Some of the responses from a lively group of Soquel High students: “Amazing,” “delish,” “mas!” They made smoothies from simple ingredients (milk, yogurt and strawberries). They transplanted lettuce to take home, heard talks on food justice, learned shocking facts such as the average number of miles (1,500) it takes to get produce from Safeway off a farm and onto a plate. They heard sugar horror stories.
“Every time you spend a dollar, you vote. Every time you buy a Coke or a Rockstar or a Monster, you’re showing the world you believe in that product,” says C.C. Parsons, a Food, What?! staff member. His demonstration asked kids to guess how many tablespoons of sugar were in a Vitamin Water (12.5 tablespoons) and a Rockstar (15.5 tablespoons), but it was the visual representation of sugar in a cup that really seemed to stick. “When they hear these things and actually see the volume of sugar, they flip,” says Parsons.
It even functioned as a career day of sorts, at least for one student. “Farming is one of the best things that I’ve ever done,” says Diego Munoz, a Food, What?! member and Strawberry Blast co-organizer. “I’d like to do it the rest of my life.”
