Kids’ Market at Boquet Valley CSD Connects Local Kids to Area Farmers and Producers

By Tim Rowland | Contributing Writer

This event at Boquet Valley Lake View Campus had all the hallmarks of a farmers’ market — tents and tables, breads, produce, and syrup. The only thing different was that the customers were more or less at eye level with the goods they were inspecting.

Arranged by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County and funded by their grant from Rooted in Learning, the farmers’ market at Boquet Valley Lake View elementary school had multiple missions, including connecting kids with the foods produced in their communities and making them feel comfortable in a farmers’ market environment, which they will hopefully remember as they grow older.

“Some of the students may have been to a farmers’ market and some may not have, but I think it’s really exciting for them to see one right here at their school,” said Ellie Hoffman, Community Vitality Resource Educator at CCE Essex. “They can go around and sample from the vendors and have hands-on experiences.”

CCE Essex is planning to host farmers’ markets at other schools it works with as well, providing a broad base of students with real-world experience. Kids were given money with which to shop, and vendors were quite willing to provide special deals to make it go further.

“This is a chance for them to see how we make and grow all these things, and for them to see the passion that goes into it,” said Rachelle Waters, owner of AHA Mushrooms in Vermontville. “I think when they’re at the grocery store, they’re completely disconnected from how the foods got from the farm to the shelf.”

Like a number of vendors at the Lake View market, Waters participates in other classroom activities CCE Essex organizes. Reading to young people and fielding questions about the work that she does to feed her community. Waters tells them that, despite its reputation for an inhospitable climate, it is actually possible to grow many things in the Adirondacks.

“I think this is a great way for them to see what it’s like to think about all the different farms and see what’s in season,” Waters said.

Dan and Kimmy Rivera, owners of Triple Green Jade Farm in Willsboro, brought baked goods from their farm along with a flour mill to show how flour is made. They also injected a bit of an economics lesson into their interactions with the kids at Lake View.

“This is how we make money, it’s how we make a living,” Dan Rivera said. “It’s how we’re able to buy chicken feed and pay the bills.”

Rivera also introduced the kids to the process of breadmaking. “This is focaccia, an Italian bread, and it has lots of pockets in it because the bread gets lots of olive oil in the dough,” he explained, pulling apart the bread for students to examine. “So it’s really light and airy — it’s one of my favorite breads, and it’s a big seller for us at markets as well.”

Then it was on to the rye chocolate chip cookies. “We take rye berries and we mill them into flour; we can do that because rye is another grain like wheat,” Rivera said. “Using rye makes it a little bit healthier, even though it’s a cookie.”

Some of the students had familiarity with agricultural practices, but many did not. The market provided an opportunity for them to explore agriculture with all five of their senses. AHA Mushrooms, for instance, brought different types of mushrooms that students could pick up and feel. 

“That sense of touch is important to young people,” said School Librarian Diana George. “I think a lot of them haven’t tasted many of the products that are here,” she said. “They’re learning how pasta is made. They’re especially fascinated by touching and holding mushrooms. And then many are drinking mint water for the first time.”

Hunter French, a sixth-generation sugarbush operator from Reber and owner of Hunter French’s Liquid Gold, showed students the old bit and brace his ancestors used to drill holes in the trees, contrasting it with the power drills of today. Maple syrup was a product more kids were familiar with owing to family members who had tapped trees, but less familiar were the lemon balm and mint that Mary Godnick, owner of Creative Kitchen Garden, passed around. “There’s a basket here, and if you’d like, you can pick one thing and sniff it,” she said. “You can taste it, but it might taste really strong, so maybe just a little.”

“This food is local; this is what’s going on in students’ backyards,” said Lake View Principal Lee Kyler. 

With a $15,000 grant from the Adirondack Community Foundation, Lake View is expanding its farm-to-school initiatives, including raised vegetable beds, a greenhouse and a chicken coop. That strengthens the bond with locally produced food.

“We’ve been working with Cornell Cooperative Extension [of Essex County]’s Agriculture in the Classroom program for a long time, so I think (the market) is the next logical thing,” Kyler said. “If we can establish this passion for farmers’ markets and local products when they’re young, why not?”

Find the CCE Essex Power of Produce Club at local farmers’ markets this summer for more fun farmers’ market experiences including microgreen planting, vegetable juicing, and squash carving! Kids who complete an activity receive $5 to purchase a fruit or vegetable at the market.