3rd Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 4

In the classroom we watched a short Brittanica video about the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-19th century and learned how a million Irish people died and how others fled the country. Many arrived in California right as the Gold Rush began. SFUSD has an elementary school named after Frank McCoppin, the first Irish-born mayor of San Francisco. By 1880, a third of San Francisco’s population was Irish.

In the kitchen we made colcannon, a delicious potato and cabbage dish with loads of Irish butter! We enjoyed the meal with some local, seasonal fruit gifted to us by the produce company we use for many of our ingredients. I brought in mini Irish soda breads—a new taste for a number of students. The weather was quite rainy, which only added to our celebration of Irish culture.

3rd Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 3

In the classroom this week, we learned that after the Mexican War of Independence, California became a part of the First Mexican Empire. The Spanish diet featured wheat; wheat was the grain of the Bible. The Mesoamerican and Mexican diets, on the other hand, featured corn; corn was a literal god. Students watched a short Eater Forklore film about corn and its role in both Indigenous and modern cultures.

In the kitchen we made tortillas from scratch and got to work with wooden tortilla presses. We have traditionally taught this lesson in the fall, when California tomato season is at its peak, but no one let the winter weather or produce get in the way of our enjoying fresh, warm tortillas and a simple pico de gallo together.

3rd Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 2

In the 1700s, the Spanish arrived to spread Catholicism and brought with them an entirely new food system, one that required the clearing of Ohlone land for the raising of livestock and the planting of crops. In the classroom, we read the picture book California’s Missions: From A to Z by local third grade teacher Matt Weber. The second and third graders made connections with the architecture of Mission High School a few blocks away; the palm trees in Dolores Park (which we learned came from the Spanish, who planted palms in order to harvest palm fronds for Palm Sunday); the current name of our city, San Francisco; the names of California baseball teams such as the Padres and the Angels; and agricultural products California is now famous for such as olives and citrus—plants the Spanish brought with them that thrived in our similar Mediterranean climate. We discussed one of the recently canonized Spanish padres, Junípero Serra, and the toppling of his statue in Golden Gate Park in 2020, making the case that events from 250 years ago are still relevant today.

In the kitchen, we made a wheatberry salad featuring the grain the Spanish introduced that continues to dominate our diets in the 21st century. To the wheatberries, students added Valencia and Cara Cara orange segments, olives, grapes, parsley, green onions, and manchego. They made a simple dressing with sherry vinegar, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and mustard, a plant we learned took over the landscape after Spanish padres scattered mustard seeds while walking between the missions. The paths ultimately became lined with the bright yellow flowers, which you can continue to see as you travel through California now. We had some very fine looking salad dressing emulsions this week, which shows that the chefs are building on their skills from grade to grade. They’re such pros!

3rd Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 1

We kicked off our exploration of the history of San Francisco with a meal celebrating Indigenous foodways. In the classroom, the second and third graders watched a short film featuring the Ohlone chefs and activists Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino. We discussed what a hunter-gatherer food system is and learned that the Ohlone, the Indigenous peoples of what is now known as the San Francisco Bay Area, are still here and still thriving. I shared that I ate at the Cafe Ohlone space in the back of the University Press bookstore depicted in the film and shared a photo of Harvey Milk fourth and fifth graders eating at a new Cafe Ohlone space on the land that is now the UC Berkeley campus in January 2023. Harvey Milk students got to meet Vincent and Louis in person, and I hope our current second and third graders will have this experience in the future, too. You can read more about Vincent and Louis’s organization, mak—’hamham, and their current project, Ohlone Land, here.

In the kitchen, we made a salad inspired by native plants and animals. Most of the produce and eggs we eat now are sourced from farms, but we captured the spirit of the bounty of our local environment. The chefs had a chance to use the mortar and pestle, the salad spinner, and the mezzaluna knife, and worked with ingredients such as quail eggs, edible flowers, and elderberry juice that may not play a regular part in our home pantries. It’s going to be a great unit—their energy is infectious!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 10

We’ve spent ten weeks exploring the climate crisis through the lens of the food system and ended with a celebration of healthy soil, the most important resource we must figure out how to protect! In the classroom, the fourth and fifth graders watched a short film from the Center for Food Safety narrated by Michael Pollan called Soil Solutions to Climate Problems. We revisited the idea that carbon captured in the soil leads to healthier plants and that carbon released into the atmosphere warms the planet.

In the kitchen, we made edible “soil” cups with chocolate chia pudding, chocolate cookie dirt, pomegranate rocks, and candied citrus peel worms topped with edible flowers. It was a sweet way to end the unit in all respects.

Room 202 paired the activity with a field trip to the Recology transfer station. We played several games designed to help us learn what items get sorted into what bins and the difference between what happens to a milk carton when we throw it into the black bin (headed to landfill) versus the blue bin (recycled to make more milk cartons). Students got to meet a couple of artists in residence who are using things they find at “the dump” for inspiration. Then they braved the smell of the huge pit where the contents of San Francisco’s black bins are collected before being taken to the landfill and the area where all of San Francisco’s green waste is combined before being taken to be made into compost that then goes back into farmland to make… healthy soil!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 9

In the classroom this week we learned about local restaurant Shuggie’s Trash Pie and how chefs are using their expertise to turn food waste like whey from the cheese-making process and spent oats from the oat-milk-making process into desirable menu items like a sausage pizza.

In the classroom we made vegetable pancakes inspired by Korean yachaejeon. This recipe is designed to accommodate any vegetables you have on hand, though we always recommend including some kind of allium (leeks, onions, shallots, etc.) for flavor. The end result is crispy and savory - they were a big hit!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 8

We will spend the next couple of weeks learning about the role food waste plays in the climate crisis. In the classroom, the fourth and fifth graders watched a video laying out the magnitude of the problem—40% of the food produced in the United States is wasted. We discussed some of the psychological contributions (e.g. consumers prefer perfect produce and grocery store displays overflowing with abundance), market forces (e.g. farmers won’t pay for labor to tend and harvest crops when they can’t recoup the cost), structural barriers (e.g. there is no federal regulation of sell by, best by, and expiration dates, which are set by producers), and scientific differences between food that is thrown into the landfill (where in the absence of oxygen it produces methane, a harmful greenhouse gas) and food that is composted (where it can go back into the system to help produce more food).

In the kitchen classroom we learned a simple, affordable recipe to turn leftovers and odds and ends from the refrigerator into a colorful, delicious meal. These buffet-style lessons are very popular because after all their hard work, the chefs get to make their own salad rolls, filled with variations of vegetables, fruit, tofu, herbs, and, of course, rice noodles. Everyone did a wonderful job working together and sharing the sriracha!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 7

This week we learned about new research on how tweaking cows’ diets can affect the amount of methane they burp into the atmosphere. In the classroom we watched a video about how the cow stomach works and how researcher Ermias Kebreab and his team at UC Davis found that the red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis, when added to cows’ feed, reduced greenhouse gas emissions by a significant, measurable amount.

In the kitchen we made a seaweed soba salad, featuring wakame, dulse, nori, and furikake, a Japanese seasoning that contains bit of chopped seaweed. The finished result was bright and colorful from carrots, cucumbers, watermelon radish, and green onions, with a savory and tangy dressing made from soy, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, and fresh lime juice. Many students tried something new this week and loved it! We will all be keeping tabs on how well this particular climate change solution will transition from the pilot phase to wider adoption by the people who raise cows for food.

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 6

Our second grade Edible Social Studies unit introduces the fact that California grows much of the fresh fruits and vegetables for the rest of the United States and also played a major role in the birth of the farmworkers movement. This week, the fourth and fifth graders learned that California, and specifically the Bay Area, is now also playing a major role in new food technologies designed to help fight climate change.

In the classroom we watched a video from Wired called The Strange Science of the Impossible Burger. A lively discussion ensued about whether the access and cost issues, concerns about the health impacts of ultra-processed foods, and real or perceived differences in taste will ultimately relegate companies like Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat to just another passing food fad or mean they can convince enough consumers to adopt their products that it will translate into meaningful reductions in harmful emissions.

In the kitchen we made Impossible meat sliders with a seasonal side salad of Japanese cucumber, red cabbage, Sungold tomatoes, and parsley from our school garden. Many students had never tasted Impossible meat before and many were very impressed by how much it resembled hamburger in taste, texture, and smell.

We were joined this week by one of our Harvey Milk alums who is now in 8th grade. His class participated in our program when we were first piloting what has now become our K-5 Edible Social Studies curriculum. It was wonderful to be reminded of how far we’ve come and how special and wide-ranging our Harvey Milk family is!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 5

We had originally planned this lesson for earlier in the fall in honor of the Rosh Hashanah table, but with the SFUSD contract delays, it’s now October! In the classroom, we watched a video of how couscous, a semolina-based product from North Africa, is made for mass consumption. We learned that many cultures have special foods for the new year, and that the tiny granules of couscous represent many blessings to come.

In the kitchen we made couscous with seven vegetables, a dish that is often served during Rosh Hashanah, especially in Morroco. Seven is a lucky number in many traditions around the world and a celebration of the bountiful fall harvest. The fourth and fifth graders really had the opportunity to show off their culinary skills with this recipe, dicing carrots, Corno di Toro peppers, buttercup squash, purple-top turnips, Early Girl tomatoes, and zucchini. Many of us were introduced to ras el hanout, a North African spice blend that contains rose petals, citrus peel, allspice, cardamom, coriander, saffron, and much more.

Our vegan meal showcases how many delicious, healthful dishes there are to explore all over the globe as we consider what a sustainable diet will look like in the future.

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 4

The fourth and fifth grade chefs viewed an animated explanation of why human behavior has caused climate change this week, which sparked lots of interesting discussion about why it’s so hard for people to act and why it will take all of us working together to solve the problem.

In the kitchen we made a Cobb salad, but with plant-based bacon instead of the traditional animal bacon. Everyone had a lot of fun putting together this composed salad, with all the different components displayed in rows and garnished with minced parsley from our school garden. Because we do not have an oven in our classroom, each class prepared the coconut bacon recipe, which was then baked for the next class to enjoy.

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 3

In the classroom this week we watched an episode of the science web series What If called What If Everyone Ate Beans Instead of Beef? The fourth and fifth graders encountered statistics on how much the beef industry contributes both to the U.S. economy and to greenhouse gas emissions, the cost of ground beef versus dried beans, the amount of water and land it takes to produce beef versus beans, and the health benefits of eating a diet rich in plants.

In the kitchen we made a vegan recipe of refried beans and enjoyed them with blue and yellow tortilla chips from Sabor Mexicano, queso fresco, cilantro and oregano from our school garden, red onion, radish, and fresh lime juice. Our closing circle question asked the chefs if they would choose beans over beef and a surprisingly high number of them responded “most of the time,” “definitely,” “maybe,” and “probably.” 

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 2

In the classroom this week we followed the young activist Genesis Butler (a grand niece of Cesar Chavez!) to the University of Oxford in England where she interviewed the food sustainability expert Dr. Joseph Poore. We learned that veganism (a plant-based diet/lifestyle) has the potential to drastically cut the level of harmful emissions that contribute to climate change.

In the kitchen we made a delicious vegan meal of parsley hummus and za’atar served with pita, cucumbers, and carrots for dipping. Chefs had fun grinding the spice mix by hand in the mortar and pestle, operating the food processor to make the hummus, cutting the pita into triangles, and making vegetable and fruit “coins” out of the produce. The finished hummus is piquant from garlic and lemon; one chef described it as having the same stimulating flavor as the popular snack Takis. If the fourth and fifth graders can get as excited for a handmade snack made from whole plants as for a processed and dyed food engineered to be highly addictive, they’ve truly mastered the art of cooking!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 1

We started our unit with a classroom discussion about how big, system-level decisions have the greatest impact on our fight against climate change. As individuals, we can affect these decisions by running for office and voting when we are old enough! Another surprisingly impactful change we can make for the health of our environment as individuals at any age is through our diet.

We watched a short profile of local food producer Don Bugito and learned that though some of us might not have experience with edible insects, there are food cultures all over the world where insects have been an important source of protein for hundreds and thousands of years. Insects require far less water and energy to produce the same amount of protein as raising cattle, pigs, or chickens and produce far less waste.

In the kitchen we made strawberry pancakes using a similar recipe as the strawberry acorn pancakes the fifth graders made last year as part of our exploration of Indigenous foodways of present-day California. Instead of acorn flour, we used Don Bugito cricket flour. Don Bugito gifted us some toasted mealworms the chefs were able to try and use as a garnish if they wanted. Many of us agreed they taste like nuts and are delicious. This lesson reminds us that to combat climate change, we will need to access the wisdom and traditions of the past, apply new knowledge and new ways of being into the future, and that there will be many moments of discomfort as well as opportunities for delight and joy!

3rd Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 10

We ended our third grade unit on the history of San Francisco with a final meal celebrating the future of Indigenous people and culture. In the classroom, we watched a video from the Oakland Museum of California featuring four generations of Ohlone women talking about their relationship to the oak tree, acorns, and how they are passing their traditions on. It’s so important for all of our students to see examples of Ohlone people in the present day not only surviving but thriving!

In the kitchen, the third graders worked with a special ingredient—acorn flour—ground by hand from acorns harvested in the East Bay. They also made a delicious tea with five native plants, including bay laurel from our Harvey Milk school garden. As we all waited for the tea to steep, we played an Ohlone game of chance called the game of staves. In lieu of willow or elderberry branches, our game pieces were made of popsicle sticks, but that didn’t stop us from connecting with the human instinct for play and building community that’s been around for thousands of years. Can’t wait to see all the chefs back in the outdoor classroom this fall!

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Week 10

In the classroom for our final lesson we read Pies From Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott and learned about the life of a hidden figure of the civil rights movement. We all felt inspired by Georgia’s commitment to justice and how she used her special talents and expertise to contribute to a cause larger than herself that ultimately changed the world.

In the kitchen we made seasonal pies from scratch in honor of Georgia Gilmore and her legacy and in celebration of each of our potential to contribute to a more just society in our own ways! It’s the start of the local cherry season, so the kindergarten chefs got to work pitting Rainier and Royal Tioga cherries, making a graham cracker crust, and whipping cream. This recipe is traditionally a refrigerator pie, meaning the ingredients should be chilled before serving, but nobody seemed to mind enjoying the pies right away. Thank you to all the kindergarteners for bringing open minds, open palates, and so much enthusiasm to the outdoor classroom this year. See you next spring!

4th/5th Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 10

We had a wonderful time welcoming our fourth and fifth grade chefs back to the kitchen classroom after a long break to celebrate Harvey Milk Day on May 22! Students shared what they knew about Harvey Milk, our school’s namesake, then recreated the 2017 Philadelphia pride flag with sesame seeds, candied ginger, strawberries, tangerines, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries, blackberries, and borage flowers.

They made whipped cream from scratch to top their colorful and symbolic rainbow pride parfaits: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, indigo for serenity, violet for spirit, and black and brown stripes to lift up the Black and brown LGBTQ+ activists who led and continue to lead the movement for justice and to highlight the specific challenges faced by BIPOC members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Congratulations to all our graduating fifth graders. It has been an honor to do this work with you and you will always be welcome in the kitchen classroom!

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Week 9

In the classroom this week we read Lunch From Home, a story inspired by the experiences of four professional chefs and the foods they brought to school when they were kids. We discussed the concept “don’t yuck my yum” and the importance of celebrating both what makes us different as well as our similarities.

It was fun to teach the kindergarteners how to make one of my favorite foods from my childhood, green onion pancakes, in the kitchen! Every chef rolled out dough, brushed on oil, seasoned with salt and green onions, twisted and coiled the dough, rolled it out again, and had the opportunity to pan fry a pancake. We enjoyed the pancakes with a final sprinkling of salt and a traditional Taiwanese cucumber salad.

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Week 8

We will spend the next few weeks talking about global foodways and how important and fun it is to explore how and what people eat around the world. In the classroom, we read My Food, Your Food, Our Food, which is also a song.

In the kitchen, we worked with some ingredients native to the African continent: fonio, an indigenous West African grain; black-eyed peas; and yams. The kindergarten chefs made a fonio grain bowl with fava greens grown locally at Dearborn Community Garden. They prepped fresh ginger, bell peppers, tomatoes, and roasted yam, and seasoned the fonio with curry and sweet harissa. It was the first time eating fonio for most of us and a nice opportunity to try something new and different!

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Week 7

Our theme this week was mindfulness! In the classroom, we read No Ordinary Apple by Sara Marlowe and Phil Pascuzzo, a book about what happens when we slow down and practice eating mindfully.

In the kitchen, we started off with an apple tasting of four varieties: Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Fuji. The kindergarten chefs used all their senses to take notice of the scents, textures, colors, flavors, and even sounds of each apple slice. Not only did the apples look different, they had different levels of sweetness and juiciness.

We then made carrot and spinach latkes and ate them with homemade applesauce made from the same four varieties of apples we tasted raw. In our closing circle, we each shared one thing we noticed about our meal by bringing mindfulness to the table with us.