Farm to Plate at Clearbrook-Gonvick

On Thursday, September 7th, thirty-five Clearbrook-Gonvick agriculture students offered their services to bring fresh-grown produce to the lunch room at Clearbrook-Gonvick School.  

Ten juniors and seniors in CG’s Veterinary Science class picked forty dozen ears of sweet corn at Anderson Farms of Clearbrook, giving many of the students their first ever experience of picking corn off the stalk. Students were educated on how the corn is pollinated and how sweet corn differs from field corn, which is fed to livestock.  

Once the 480 ears of corn arrived at the school, CG’s Exploring Agriculture class, an introductory class for 7th and 8th grade students, were put in charge of cleaning the ears before they would be cooked the next day for school lunch. These students learned that each silk they cleaned off of the cob served a very important purpose in the fertilization process and in the production of each individual corn kernel.

Always providing delicious and healthy lunches at Clearbrook-Gonvick, the kitchen staff, led by Head Cook Robin Proffit, prepared a hearty meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and fresh corn on the cob for students and staff.  

Junior Vet Science student, Kari Shamp, commented on the farm to plate experience, “It was really cool to see something that we picked out of the field being served at lunch the next day.”

A special thank you to Robin and her staff, Anderson Farms, Alissa of Stein Bus Service, and all students who worked hard to make this farm to plate opportunity happen for the students and staff at Clearbrook-Gonvick.

-Submitted