As usual, summer went by in a blur! As we gear up for another school year of gardening and cooking with kids, here’s a quick glance back at the summer. Camps Over 140 kids explored, made new friends and prepared healthy snacks during camps at the Outback Farm at WWU.  Check out the snacks we prepared […]

When Common Threads launched school garden programs in 2009, our efforts grew out of conversations amongst teachers and parents who believed school gardens could be most resilient and best integrated into the fabric of their school communities if they were grown in conversation with each other.   Too often, school garden advocates were re-inventing protocol […]

Ms. Maria couldn’t believe how quickly the salad was eaten– the kids love kale! Carl Cozier’s food service lead Maria Moench made sure that the kale, harvested from the Cozier school garden by Mrs. Conlon’s second graders, became part of a tasty Plant Part Salad. By the start of the second lunch period, the salad […]

“I used to think that my parents were mean when they kept me from eating junk food, now I know they do it because they love me,” observed one 4th grader in a recent Pure Food Kids workshop. Our students are investigating ingredient labels and nutrition facts, learning about food additives, marketing, and sugar, AND […]

Please join us for a May Match fundraiser! Did you know that schools currently cover only 20% of the cost of food education? Common Threads relies on the support of people like YOU to connect kids to healthy food! Common Threads is seeking 100 new monthly donors ~  won’t you be one of them?  During the month of May, your […]

Imagine a fresh strawberry plucked from your home garden. A ripe tomato from your yard. Fresh fruits and veggies are tastiest just after they’re harvested ripe. – And if you grew them yourself, they’re even tastier! Maybe it’s the taste of love? Or pride? Or effort? But there’s something about the flavor of food you’ve […]

“I have been waiting all day for cooking class to start!” said Xavier, a 6th grader and student chef who lives in the Regency Park Apartments. During spring break, ten student chefs in grades 3rd to 6th who live at Regency Park enthusiastically worked together to cook and serve four colorful, nutritious meals: Veggie Spring […]

The annual Kids Dayz Spring Break Camp at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center was extra tasty this spring. Through a partnership with Common Threads, this four-day camp provided students a chance to engage their minds, hands, and taste buds.  Each day of camp focused on a particular recipe, with students working together in groups […]

Three wooden blocks appeared in our office this winter. A grid of mud packed holes graced each block. The stack was labeled “emerge March” and “Doug” with a phone number… “Doug,” it turns out, referred to Doug Banner, a professor of Health and Community Studies at Western Washington University. A former student of ecology, with […]

Dirt made my lunch, dirt made my lunch…. Thank you dirt, thanks a bunch, ‘cuz dirt made my lunch. -Banana Slug String Band Ask just about any 2nd grader with a Common Threads school garden, and they’ll tell you how important “dirt” is… But what are kids learning about soil? Soil is the mixture of minerals, […]