Teaching Kids About Where Our Food Comes From (And Why We Should)

Let's go back a couple of decades to when I was about 16. I had a friend over and my mom had made burgers. The conversation after dinner blew my mind. It went something like this:

Friend: Thanks April (my mom), that was the best burger I've ever eaten.
Mom: We really like venison burgers, so I thought you would too.
Friend: A what burger?
Mom: Venison, deer meat.
Friend: You fed me Bambi?

After this, my friend always asked what the meat was because we could have venison, wild boar, wild turkey, anything in our freezer. Did she not realize that bacon came from Wilbur and beef came from Ferdinand?

Dad didn't hunt because he grew up having to hunt for food in the mountains of West Virginia. However, he liked the meat, so he would cover the processing fee when friends would get an extra deer or hog for us.

This was life for us.

Lately, it seems to be going further than that. It seems that more and more kids think our food comes from the grocery store. This is disturbing in that there seems to be a lack of traditional knowledge and common sense. What are these kids going to do when they grow up and have to find a way to feed their families besides just what is on the shelf? Are they only eating produce that is chemically processed and sprayed with dyes to look ripe?

Our kids know where food comes from and we talk about it a lot. We don't want them freaking out because someone fed them Bambi (actually, they've never seen Bambi). We had burgers one night and were explaining that's why you see cows in fields all over our community. Actually, there is a pasture across the street. I took them to the top of the yard and we talked about cows and moo'd at them. 

If a friend gets a deer, boar, or turkey, they will sometimes come by the house and let the kids see it. We explain that it will be eaten and the kids tell the animal thank you for the nourishment. Many times, we will get a pack of meat off that animal (hunters appreciate that we are teaching the kids like this) and we talk about it again. 

The kids learn that there was a sacrifice made so they can eat. It has really stuck with them.

We also grow a garden with turnips, green beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, blueberries, blackberries, and more. The kids love helping out and eating fresh picked produce. They get involved from the beginning. 

They learn that there is a sacrifice of time and energy made so they can eat. 

When we are walking around the property, we show them the things that grow naturally that can be eaten. They have tried wild blackberries, muscadines, figs, dandelions, pigs ears, and more. 

They learn that God provides for us by putting these plants there for us to eat. 

We make it a point to have these conversations with the kids and to stress that food doesn't just appear in front of you. That there is so much more involved, including the cooking. The kids have learned to appreciate what they have and be grateful because so much has been put into it. 

One of the biggest things that my kids have gotten from learning these things is not to waste. In fact, if there are scraps, Tbomb always reminds me to put them in the scrap bucket, which we take to the edge of the woods each night for the wildlife. So, after we eat, we are feeding stray dogs and cats, deer, raccoon, opossum, foxes, and other animals. Even when we clean out the freezer and have things we can no longer use, this food is taken to the woods. They especially love it when we put the trail cameras out on the food so they can see what animals come to eat. 

I encourage you to have these conversations with your kids in one way or another