“I was really impressed with the creative business concepts that some of these students came up with,” said LeCoy. Students were instructed that their business could not replicate products or services by an existing business and the business must have a strategy for paying rent, employees, equipment/supplies, insurance and utilities each month in addition to making a profit.Ĭrystal LeCoy, Incubator Kitchen Manager at the Downtown Market, worked with each group on developing their business concept. However, many students asked for second helpings of cheese, kale salad and snap beans.Īfter lunch the students worked in teams of four or five to develop a unique business concept that would fit in the Downtown Market. “I think it is a strange texture and maybe the strong onions,” commented one Junior Master Gardener. The quinoa seemed to be the most challenging for the students to enjoy. Michigan State University Extension also provided students with three Making Thyme side dishes: kale salad, quinoa salad and sautéed ginger snap peas. Students learned that the ideal soil to moisture level for potting herbs occurs when water runs out and the soil stays in a clump when squeezed.įor lunch, the group was treated to a cheese tray by Aperitivo featuring a sheep’s milk cheese and a soft Brie made with cow’s milk. Josh helped the students prepare a soil mixture to pot herbs for fall harvesting. All of these are sold to food businesses in the Market and in Relish, the Market’s retail grocery store. Josh, the assistant greenhouse manager, gave an overview of the plants they grow, which in August, included herbs (chives, wheatgrass, thyme, and basil), ornamental hot peppers and cherry tomatoes. We grow Swiss chard in our JMG garden and I’m glad I think it tastes good,” said a fourth grader.Īfter the tour, the group headed upstairs to the second floor greenhouse. MSU Extension organized a tour of the market for the first activity, which included a tasting of the Tropical Greens smoothie from Malamiah Juice Bar. This was the group’s first trip to the Grand Rapids Downtown Market. The Lowell Junior Master Gardener program uses a 4-H curriculum developed by Texas A& M, which includes hands-on science, art, and math activities that compliment students’ work in the WWC’s vegetable garden. Cheers worked with MSU Extension at the Downtown Market to host the field trip, which included a tour of the market, tastings of several food items, planting herbs in the greenhouse, and a food business concept activity. Courtney Cheers, Director of Lowell Area Schools’ Wittenbach/ Wege Agriscience Center (WWC) and coordinator of the Lowell Junior Master Gardener program, brought nineteen elementary and middle school students to visit the Grand Rapids Downtown Market on August 4, 2015.
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