It was a great learning experience for the kids yesterday.

Grade 4 students from Swift Current and area schools were out at the Food Farm to take part in the harvest and learn more about where their food comes from.

Kari Burnett with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture talked about the importance of the event for the kids.

“Only two per cent of the population in Canada has a direct tie to the farm anymore. So there are a lot of misconceptions that when you go to the grocery store to buy your food that’s where it’s made. I guess we’re showing the behind the scenes, all the work that goes on to get the milk to the store or get the cookies made. Even the vegetable - lots of kids don’t have an experience with a garden, so knowing that potatoes grow underground, and tomatoes grow above ground is sort of an eye-opener for some of them.”

The Ministry of Agriculture’s Swift Current office works with a number of other partners on the project including AAFC’s Swift Current Research and Developmental Centre which is the site for the growing project and event.

Kerry Laforge is a Range and Forage Biologist with AAFC and said they're pleased to be a part of the event.

“For us, it’s just a great opportunity! I think in the Spring we had 30 staff involved in getting the food farm ready all in different capacities of course. We provide staff, education, I know a lot of our scientists have even been out here running booths. So, it’s great!”

Burnett says this is the third year for the event and the kids love it; they enjoy planting and harvesting the vegetables, sampling the food samples, seeing the animals and climbing inside the large machinery.