2001 ~ Field to Market to You

Life Lab Garden Store

New Leaf Community Markets and Life Lab team up to create a new program called Field-To-Market-To-You. For multiple years this food systems education program visited classrooms and followed up with a field trip to a grocery store. Students learned about local agricultural history, responsible consumerism, label reading and healthy food choices, and the origins of food. New Leaf Markets hired Life Lab Intern Katie Davis and continued to run this program.

View Field to Market to You Classroom and In-store activities.

4th-6th Grade Program

In-Class Presentation, students:

  • brainstorm the roles of farming, processing, distribution, and transportation in the life cycle of food production

  • Sinvestigate local and non- local food

  • learn about nutrition labels

New Leaf Community Market Exploration - At their local New Leaf, students:

  • compare bulk vs. packaged foods

  • research food labels

  • play Wow-Cow (an animal by- product game) - learn cool facts about various animals

  • investigate the nutrition and locality of produce, and sample in-season produce



2nd-3rd Grade Program

In-Class Presentation, students:

  • explore the local food history of Santa Cruz, from the Ohlone to the present

  • compare foods eaten and prepared throughout history to understand how they differ from food today

New Leaf Community Market Exploration - At their local New Leaf, students:

  • go on a scavenger hunt to find foods that were eaten by the Ohlone, the Pioneers, and by us today

  • tour the operations of their local grocery to see various aspects of store management

  • sample delicious treats throughout the exploration. 



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