The movement to understand food continues to grow. In Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken great steps to feed this hunger for knowledge, supporting Agriculture in the Classroom, a charity that promotes agriculture education and awareness in the province. In fact, on June 10, just outside Moose Jaw, Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart announced the support would continue, with $1 million to fund Ag in the Classroom over the next 5 years. The news was welcomed with enthusiasm from a number of the audience, many of whom just so happened to be on site to take a stab at farming pizza.
Though this exciting endeavour was a first for Moose Jaw, the Pizza Farm is in its second year, and growing.
Hear From the Students: Talking to Little Pizza Farmers
Visiting the Pizza Farm for spring planting is an event. The students, ecstatic to be in the field, are rotated through many stations: they’re involved in planting many of the key pizza ingredients, have the opportunity to tour equipment, hear from dairy and pork producers and of course plant their own seeds to take home. By fall, everything from wheat to herbs has matured in the Pizza Farm’s wedges, to be harvested and made into a delicious pizza, thereby giving kids a taste of where food comes from.
If you want to hear more about this initiative, take a listen the following video, shot this year at Moose Jaw’s Pizza Farm. In it, Val Panko, farm business management specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, who explains the idea behind this program, how it works and who’s involved in its support. Also, stay tuned on RealAgriculture to hear from some of the pizza farmers themselves!
Audio only: