Growing up I’m not sure how much I knew about where my food came from. We didn’t know as much as we do now about the links between foods and health. Now I think it’s something we all have to stop and think about each time we purchase something to eat for our families and ourselves.
Every time we pick up something to eat, we really should be asking ourselves where did this come from? How many additives are in this product? Can I pronounce the ingredients? How far and how long has it been trucked? How has it been made/raised?

I think it’s definitely something worth teaching our children about from a young age. Good habits start young and their future selves will definitely thank us for it.
We are up against an extensive marketing scheme when it comes to food. Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with bright, fun campaigns showcasing food that definitely does not come from an animal or plant or seed.
Snacks in convenient little bags sometime seem like the way to go when packing lunches. We all forget about the simplicity of washing a fruit or cutting up some veggies, those commercials are super sneaky getting into our subconscious. How then do we propose actually teaching them the basics of where our food comes from? With the little ones, my answer to you is that teaching through play and experience will always create the most lasting impressions.
So, plant a garden together. If you don’t have the outside space you can use flower planters. We started very small last year.
The kids enjoyed the planting process as well as looking for new sprouts and absolutely loved collecting the fruits of our labour. How satisfying is it to pull a carrot out of the ground and take a bite?
They will be so proud of the fact that they watched their vegetables grow and got to add them to the dinner table. Once they understand the process of growing their own vegetables they will hopefully become more likely to enjoy them.
You can also involve them in the shopping. We’re lucky to have local markets with beautiful arrays of vegetables available to us for five months of the year. We appreciate thanking our farmers for their hard work providing us with our produce, honey, baked goods, meat and eggs.
Going to markets allows kids to talk to the farmer who worked hard getting us this produce and choose the vegetables that appeal most to them. This also provides us with an opportunity to discuss the difference between the food we buy in the grocery store shipped from far and the food that comes locally from the farm, we love our market carrots and tomatoes.
It can be more challenging to find good produce during the winter months. One thing you can do is purchase in bulk when an item is in season and can or freeze them for use year round. Kids can be part of this process too, helping wash and bag vegetables or even trim beans. Some local farmers also can or freeze their own goods for sale.
When you are shopping at the grocery store look for the labels that say where the item came from and try to choose the most locally sourced products available. You might be surprised to find greenhouse grown items from Quebec and Ontario available year round.
When discussing where our food comes from you undoubtedly have to deal with the fact that meat actually comes from the cute animals we loved seeing on the farm. Farming children have a very real grasp on this concept, one that I don’t think non-farming children can appreciate. They grow up experiencing all the hard work that goes into the meat that we eat. We can do our part by having our children visit farms, talk to farmers, show them exhibits at the fair, discussing where their food comes from and answering any questions they may have.
In the long run, we hope that all the discussion and education pays off in healthy eating habits.