Have you ever wondered where your food comes from? Usually, you just go to the grocery store and buy it. But let’s take sausage and cheese pizza for instance and discover its origin.

Sausage comes from pigs. Pigs eat corn and vegetation – which, of course, are plants.

Cheese is a dairy product from cows. Cows feed on grass, hay and grain – which are plants. Pizza sauce can be made from tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs like basil and oregano. Guess what, those are all from plants. According to the United Nations, plants make up 80% of the food we eat and produce 98% of the oxygen we breathe.

Many plants need to be pollinated to produce their fruit. Pollination is the movement of pollen from the anther (male part) of one flower to the pistil (female part) of another plant.Bees, hummingbirds and butterflies are examples of animals that are pollinators. According to the University of Minnesota, one in three bites of food we eat is possible due to pollinators.

Our goal in our kids’ garden focuses on understanding where food comes from but extends to personal achievement and more. Extension at the University of Maryland has done a lot of research on gardening with kids.

Their research shows gardening boosts interest in learning and even school. Being involved in a garden improves their views and interest in consuming healthier foods. Social skills, self-esteem, community spirit and caring for the environment are all positive aspects of being part of a gardening program.

These are the skills we work on at our Jr. Master Gardening Program for kids!

If your kids would like to grow food – we have the opportunity for you.

OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers lead and sponsor this gardening program to learn about these things as well as soil, planting seeds, watching them grow and harvesting their crops! We have a pollinator garden, including milkweed which we watch grow, flower and provide seeds during the growing season.

This plant is the favorite food for monarch butterflies. We also grow sunflowers and have a bed of herbs.

The last two years, we entered our garlic and daisies at the Canfield Fair. Our hope is to instill the love of gardening in kids. Kids will get their hands dirty, make new friends and play out in the grand outdoors.

Details of our meetings are available during the interest and registration process. They are weekly and last for approximately one hour. Parental involvement is required. Our garden is part of the St. Patrick’s community areas in Youngstown.

For questions, call OSU Extension to get in contact with the lead volunteer at the gardens – 330-533-5538.

Kacenski is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Mahoning County.