Good Food Garden at SoBe
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Hey, Sarah Copeland here from Food Network Kitchens. Last weekend, we spent 48 hours in a little land of green. Our latest Good Food Garden was a part of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in Miami. It was an absolute pleasure to bring another garden to South Florida since the one we built there last year is now a thriving force that has inspired the kids of the South Beach Boys & Girls Club and their family food co-op that the community has come to depend on.
For two days, our garden sat smack in the sunny center of Jungle Island Fun Park, greeting kids and parents with lush patches of strawberries, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, squash and fruiting temple orange trees among a dozen other varieties of fresh foods. As always, wherever our gardens go, they invite the little ones to taste, touch, smell and learn.
Whenever I talk with someone who has not experienced the Good Food Gardens through the eyes of a child, I talk about the magic that happens there—the lure of the plants that are a world of wonderment to a child who may or may not know that the food they see on their plate started as a tiny seed. The magic was at work full force this weekend as kids tucked their noses into the orange blossoms, felt the furry sage leaves and tasted spicy, vibrant arugula.
But the real magic happens in the homes and lives of the families the garden will touch now that it has been relocated to its permanent home, the Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club in Delray Beach. We hope the things they will grow, taste and cook because of their exposure to fresh fruits and vegetables in their own backyard will inspire generations of healthy eating. It’s the magic of a movement that believes Good Food is for everyone.