"Field" trip gives students fresh ideas

BELLBROOK, Ohio (WDTN) - The term "field" trip took on a whole new meaning for some Southdale Elementary students when they stepped off the bus floor and into the barnyard.

"They really get enthused about it," says Bob Evans with the American Institute of Wine and Food. "They ask a zillion questions."

But the first question was what's for lunch?

Although their meal came with a side of learning, as students sang the song "Dirt Made My Lunch".

"We're introducing kids to where their food comes from, " says the owner of Rosemary's Garden, Rosemary Eisenhower. "Right out of the ground."

Students used to digging for answers were now scooping up something else, lessons in how to feed their minds and their bodies.

"I learned some plant names," says Southdale 5th Grader Gwendolyn Peters. "I learned you can eat different types of plants you never could and I learned eggplants were named by George Washington."

Nothing like the father of our country to help us get back to our roots, but then that's the point of the event hosted by Rosemary's Garden with some help from the American Institute of Wine and Food.

Give the students a taste of what fresh produce can be like and then let Mother Nature take care of the rest.

"Hopefully the kids will start understanding the healthy aspect of eating organically and eating plants and vegetables and fruits and a lot less of the cheese puffs and Doritos," says Bernard Schwieterman, a Southdale science teacher.

Students may have started with those typical snacks, but they will end with a fresh prospective and a fresh meal of pizza being cooked up with the kind of vegetables they just cut up.

Maybe one day a few of the young students will want to become 'Old MacDonald's'.

"Help us grow little farmers," Eisenhower says.