One of the favorite parts of any child’s school day is the lunch period, but what actually goes into each little brown bag or lunch box each day?
The transitional kindergarten (TK) program at Franklin Elementary School sought to answer that question in a fun and functional way, finishing its unit on food with a "TK Food Market" event on Tuesday. The young students put on their chef hats to serve Franklin staff, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) officials and local parents; all while promoting a worthy cause. All the tips collected for serving items like fruit skewers and salad were donated to the Westside Food Bank, a local organization committed to fighting food insecurity.
"The unit started because our kids were super interested in food … we also talked about how it’s so important to help people around Santa Monica who don’t have money and need food," Franklin TK Collaborative Teacher Danielle Eden said.
Before the food market, the students took part in a host of activities that taught food groups, nutrition and the farm-to-table sequence. Students brought in an ingredient from a cultural or favorite family meal for discussion, went through farm-to-table sequencing cards, sorted food items by food groups and learned about produce from a trip to Underwood Family Farms.
Aside from food production, the food market taught them how to count up donation money and how to properly interact with the day’s customers.
"We kind of came up with a unit that covers all content areas, and it’s really cool that not only did they make a real-life food market, but the proceeds that we’re getting from tips are going [to Westside]," Eden added.
The food bank, based in Santa Monica, provided over four million meals during the 2022-23 fiscal year, and its educational arm reached out to the TK program via a Zoom call detailing their services.
"It was tricky because it’s a hard concept for some of our kids to understand, so our kids had a ton of questions, which they were great about answering," said Franklin TK educator Nell Canon, who added that the goal is to make the food market event an annual endeavor.
The unit was another success for SMMUSD’s first "TK Collaborative" classroom, where half of the class is general education students and the other half qualify for special education services with individualized education plans. The TK program has been growing throughout the district, with classrooms also present at Edison, Grant, McKinley, Roosevelt and Webster elementary schools, along with Will Rogers Learning Community.
Several SMMUSD officials were on-hand to taste test the TK goods, including Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Dr. Stacy Williamson. Williamson commended the Franklin group for "engaging in learning with hands-on experiences in real life" and for making meaningful connections to the Santa Monica community by helping Westside.
"To see the outcome of these events when these kids are the ones who are creating and being the ones that deliver, it’s just been phenomenal," Williamson said.
Wanting to do something for those who don’t have adequate food access made Eden "so happy" to facilitate, excited that her students hunger for knowledge led to the fundraiser.
"I’m so proud of my kids, and it just shows even at 4 years old, 5 years old, you can make a difference," Eden said.
For more information about the Westside Food Bank, visit wsfb.org
