Growing Tomorrow's Food System: Why Agricultural Literacy Matters

Many Kids Know What Food Is—But Not Where It Comes From

Most children eat three meals a day, yet many have little connection to the farms, farmers, and food systems that make those meals possible. In this episode, Becky Sponholtz, Executive Director of Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, shares how school gardens, hands-on learning, and agricultural education are helping students better understand where their food comes from and why agriculture matters. Growing up in Florida's agricultural heartland and spending years as an agriscience teacher, Becky brings a unique perspective on inspiring the next generation of informed consumers, future farmers, and food system leaders. Together, we explore how agricultural literacy helps cultivate stronger communities, healthier food choices, and a more resilient future for agriculture.

Transcript

Welcome And Why This Matters

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Fresh Take, where we have photoorganic growers speak to food systems experts about topics related to organic and sustainable agriculture, healthy lifestyles, and the environment. To help us continue our programs at Fog, including our podcast, consider becoming a sponsor. For more information on sponsorship, check out our Get Involved page on our website, www.foginfo.org.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Welcome everyone to our latest episode of our Fresh State podcast. We are really fortunate today to be talking about a topic that is near and close to our hearts here at Florida Organic Growers. We want to talk about the future of agriculture as it relates to high school students, people who are sort of entering agriculture, and it all starts in the classroom. And so we're fortunate to have Becky Spanholz with us today. She is an educator and an expert that knows a whole lot about how to do that in the classroom. So we want to welcome Becky today, and we uh are grateful for you to be joining us today.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

So,

Beckys Unexpected Road To Teaching

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Becky, I think maybe that's we want to begin, you know, where we usually begin is uh talking a little bit about your background, how it was that you got started in sort of teaching agriculture in the classroom, and anything you want to share with us about, you know, sort of how you grew up and did you grow up in a farming family or anything that you think that you might want to share with us today?

SPEAKER_02 1:35

Okay, and I'm gonna start by saying I'm not an expert. I have been doing this for a long time, but I'm definitely not an expert. But um, my background and how I got to where I am today, it definitely was a weird road. I grew up in Palm Beach County and I grew up on the eastern part of Palm Beach County where we didn't have agriculture. Um, but the western Palm Beach County had a lot of agriculture. So growing up, I was not exposed to it except for when I drove through there and I thought, this is really cool. I don't know anything about this, but I know it exists. And I went to college to be a veterinarian and uh like probably many pre-vet students, I didn't stick with it. And I took an agriculture class and I fell in love. So my love and and true appreciation of agriculture didn't actually start until I was in college. Um and I did go to Auburn University. Um, and from there, honestly, the way that I got into education, I was an animal science person. I was gonna go the animal route, but we had a family friend and I had a period of my life where I was kind of wandering, and they said, Hey, we need a long-term sub in the agriculture program. Would you do it? And I was like, Okay, I'll do it, I'll do anything once for a short period of time. And um, that was back in 2004, I believe, and I was hooked. Um, so I worked on getting my teaching certificate. I taught for almost 10 years until I transitioned um into Florida agriculture in the classroom. And I've been here since June of 2013.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

So, what is exactly Florida agriculture in the classroom? I sort of uh, you know, like you started doing teaching, and just by accident, I also did not grow up in a farm, but in many ways, uh fell in love with teaching, then eventually uh studied horticulture, and then ever since, as the Fogs education and specialist, just really enjoyed uh talking to people and teaching about agriculture to students and anyone who's sort of interesting in learning more about agriculture. But tell us a little bit more about Florida agriculture in the classroom.

What Florida Ag In The Classroom Does

SPEAKER_02 3:40

So, Florida Agatha Classroom, it we are a statewide nonprofit that focuses on agriculture education. Uh, we have three main programs that we do. We have our free resources, we have our grants. Okay, wait, we have four. Okay. So we have our free resources, we have our grants, we have our workshops, and then we have our agriculture literacy day program. Um, so we try to get a variety of resources out there, and our goal is to teach kids where their food, fiber, and natural resources come from. Um, whether they're going to be a farmer or rancher in their future is irrelevant to what we're doing because no matter what, everybody's going to be a consumer. They need to know where their clothes came from, their food comes from, and really appreciate that whole process. So that that is our goal by doing um those those resources and those programs, we're able to reach students, we're able to reach teachers, we're able to reach volunteers and non-formal educators. So we kind of we kind of hit it from all different angles.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

And I I'm imagining that um, because I'm a believer of when you are trying to talk about some of these topics, especially when you're it maybe it doesn't really matter if you're talking to kids or middle high school students or even adults, that often some of that um agricultural literacy is done with either hands-on, you know, learning by doing approach. Is that something that uh is part of the Florida Agriculture in the Classroom program?

SPEAKER_02 5:16

So one of the, I think, amazing things about agriculture is it it takes what you're learning in books and it takes it off the pages and into real life. You you get that hands-on experience that really solidifies the concept into your brain. Uh when I was teaching, I taught middle school and high school. Um, and I the kids would take their end-of-the-year science test, and they would always come to me and they're like, Oh, I love this class because we don't do anything. And I said, Well, let's let's talk about this. I said, What did you learn? Like, what was on that test? So, like this, this, and this. And I said, Well, where did you learn that your class? And I was like, B? So please don't go around telling everybody we don't do anything, but we were learning that that hands-on concept, and they were like, Oh, it's I just I and I still love it even with the teachers today, that that aha, like light bulb moment when they're like, Oh my gosh, I understand it now. Like when you talk about germination, now I'm seeing that little little thing pop out of the seed. So I just it just takes it off to the pages and in real life.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Absolutely. I I yeah, I couldn't agree more. Uh, and then you also, because you you alluded to it that in in many ways, you know, we're all consumers. Uh, this concept of maybe really being aware

Hands On Learning Through School Gardens

SPEAKER_00 6:30

of where our food comes from and uh our fiber and many of the uh sort of everyday products that we use, agriculture, um, you know, plays such a big role that I think uh often students, as I think you were uh sort of saying in your example, don't realize that they actually have learned quite a bit, you know, and through the experience in the classroom now realize the importance of food and the decisions that we so we sort of make. And in that, in that way, could you maybe provide maybe an example or share with us something? I think you just gave one with one of your students, but how the program is sort of uh creating more informed consumers.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

So one of our biggest programs that we do with our resources and our grants and our workshops is is school gardens. Um I I feel like it's that initial thing that teachers and students are like, okay, I can try this. This is doable. Let me get my hands for the pun. Uh let me get my hands dirty. And really kind of get that interest going and that that learning. So we felt it's really important. And one of the great things in in Florida is our growing season is our school year. Uh so we are very fortunate to be able to even have two growing seasons here during the school year. So um our school gardens have been really big. It teaches kids so many life lessons. It's not even, I I know we want to talk about like the understanding where food comes from, but it's it's those other life lessons too, because they're learning how to fail, which is super important and how to experiment and try new things. But um I really when I started teaching ag, I didn't realize how many people really didn't understand where their food came from because I always did. And so in it in it still to this day, my kids are a little bit older now, but I remember the first time I took my sons, I went with them to Publix on a field trip when he was in kindergarten. And they actually took us into the back of Publix because they needed to show the kids that that's not where the food was grown. And it blew my mind. I'm like, oh my gosh, the kids really don't know this. And still to this day, there's there's so many kids, it just it's it's just more than they can even grasp because they grow up in these these houses with neighbors so close and there's just nothing near them.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Um, and I think I might have gotten off track on that question, but no, no, I think I think you'd certainly um sort of address what I was asking, or what I'm sure our audience is really curious about, is how uh the program is um sort of informing and um educating educating that you know the current and future generations about food because in many ways they're going to be the ones who are gonna be making you know decisions and and voting for things that really affect our food system in many ways and agriculture and our environment. So I do think then uh I share sort of your passion, as I said, in uh uh trying to sort of inform you know uh everyone, especially young um, you know, students, about uh food and and agriculture. Um what are some of the um some of the resources? I think you've shared some already, but and maybe this is the perfect time is how do people, for those that are listening, find out more about the program and some of the resources that are available?

SPEAKER_02 9:57

So all of our resources are on our website.

Free Lessons Grants And New Elementary Plan

SPEAKER_02 10:00

One of the things that we haven't um fully pushed out yet, but um we've been really trying to create this formal elementary agriculture program uh in the state of Florida. They are, they have started it in Georgia, they are doing it in uh Arkansas, and they aren't doing it in Texas, and we're really trying to get that going here. So we actually created a framework, and the way that we were hoping that this would go was um in elementary school, they have specials, and so they have PE, they have art, they have music, and we want to offer the resources so that if they wanted to teach agriculture as a specials, that we would have the resources there. So we started in June putting all of our new our new lessons onto our website. So by the end of um the summer, the beginning of the school year, we are going to have 30 lessons per grade level. So we're gonna have 30 kindergarten lessons, 30 first grade lessons. So that has been a huge thing that we've been working on the last two years to really have those resources in place once we get the okay from the state to have that happen. And so that's been a big thing for us. Um as I mentioned, our school garden resources. We have three school garden curricula. We have gardening for grades, which is our first one. And it goes, it starts with soil, germination, plant nutrients, has a lot of them. And that's actually my favorite book, if I can call a book a favorite. Um, gardening for nutrition. That one's K through 12, and then we have Stemming Up Gardening. So those three books, um, we've had them for a while. Uh, we we just hired, and this is we've only had our new person, and we have a third person on staff. Her name is Leanne Huesman, and she is our elementary agriculture specialist. So she is now in this last month started taking our lessons, and really um, she was in the educate elementary education system for almost 20 years, and so she has that experience. So she's taking some of our older lessons that need to be updated to the new standards, and education is constantly changing. So we want to make sure elementary wasn't my my strong suit. So um we're excited to have her. But yeah, right now we're we're putting a lot of energy into elementary. We feel like the younger we can get them um excited and interested about it, the better it is. Not to say we don't have middle and high school stuff, but elementary is where we're putting a lot of our eggs in our baskets.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah. And I'm so glad that uh to hear the uh all of the things that you're now um all doing in terms of uh revamping, I guess maybe could be a word that could be used uh in with the lessons and everything else. Because in fact, Florida Organic Growers, we have uh and created a curriculum for um high school and you know uh second post-secondary school people who are going to be entering the workforce, and it's called the certified organic farm technician. But as you mentioned, I do agree that if you start really, really early, a lot of these uh young students start seeing uh agriculture and some of the uh related sort of jobs interested in it and eventually be able to maybe even make careers out of this. So so I think we we certainly complement each other in many ways. How can um maybe, you know, uh students across the state and and maybe teachers I I meant, um use some of the subjects in the lessons and incorporate them into other classes like science or language, arts, math, uh, social studies. Can you talk a little bit about that and

Bringing Agriculture Into Every Subject

SPEAKER_00 13:30

your experience with that?

SPEAKER_02 13:31

I can. And I also realized I just mentioned our other staff, Leanne Husman, and I haven't mentioned Jennifer Morgenthal. She has been with us since 2019 and she's our programs manager. So I want to also, we are a team of three now covering the state. So um absolutely. And I so this is a fun one because most people think that all you can do is teach science. Um, and and science is definitely an easy one. Um, I like to incorporate math into it. Um, I am going to tell you, um, even though my son is about to go into high school, some of my math, my higher level math, I haven't done for a very long time. So I stick with some of that easier stuff. I love doing perimeter and area. Like if you do a square foot garden, it's super easy to do perimeter area. And it really shows those kids with just using pieces of paper that are 12 inch by 12 inch, having them stand up, do an activity really conceptualizes what's the difference of perimeter area. Why is it important when I am dealing with things? If you're building a fence, how can I use it? You know, you've got angles. So there's a lot of things. One of the things I used to do with my students is you had um, we would measure yields. So you're weighing, you're measuring your germination rate. So there's so many things you can do with plants. Social studies, this is a different one. I also have a meat science background. Um, and it was really interesting when I was in college to learn how much of our what we do with food nowadays was actually because of war. Um, and we, the planning process, the adding of the extra nutrients and that kind of stuff. And my husband was is a social studies teacher. And one year he was like, you know what, Becky, I am going to teach this whole year of history using food. And I was like, I can't wait to see it. He did not finish it, but he was like, it's just you can put food into history and it's really great. And there are um ag in the classroom programs in in all the other different states. And Minnesota, Ag in the Classroom has created, I want to say it's an AP geography curriculum that deals with history. So there are definitely some great resources out there for that. Um language arts, anything that you want to write about, like you incorporate it into it. So that one's an easy one too, because you have to do so much writing. Why not write about agriculture? Why not write about how things have changed with our food and our you know supply chain?

SPEAKER_00 15:45

So I think I think it's it's interesting that you mentioned a little bit about the history because I also agree. Often, uh, you know, when we were students or taking certain courses, I think uh sometimes we're not really learning about the history of why things happen the way that they did it and why we do the things. I mean, you were mentioning, or I was thinking actually right now about uh some of that history in the World War II and canning the victory gardens. Uh and and and how today, you know, we have these urban farms and gardens in many cities and all that stuff. But the victory gardens play such a big role during World War II, right? That you know, citizens were encouraged to you know grow their own food. And and then there is still a lot of people really interested in connecting to growing their food or at least having a small garden in their backyard. So, but that that's history for you, and I do think that that plays a really important role in um some of the again, the classroom activities. Um and speaking of which, can you maybe give us some examples of some of the hands-on learning activities that you all do with your with your students?

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Um, so our the the easiest place to start is our are what we call make and takes. Like it's a one and done, it's not a whole curriculum, not whole lesson. Um, one of my um favorite is we we have a lesson in there and it's it's called spice it up. And it has the you have a world map and it has some of our herbs and spices that it the kids can uh well, we do this with teachers, which I will tell you being married to a history person in my geography is awful. Um and so um we have them try to decide where they think this herb or spice originated and where it's like popular now. And so it kind of gets them talking about where things started, where they um then moved to and how it's changed since then, and how our cuisine in some of those cultures were around some of those herbs. So I really love that discussion about the world and where our herbs and spices came from and what they're all used for. We have a lot of, and I know you probably know this, the medicinal pieces to our herbs are just so cool. And we and we have a bigger lesson called Spice It Up that kind of gets into that. But the antimicrobial and antibacterial components of of some of those are very cool. And then we have a secondary activity where we make tea bags. I like to do mints because mint can grow almost anybody can grow mints, and then you dry it and you just use um coffee filters to make a tea bag. So um, those are just two examples of just some fun, fun ones that I like to do a lot.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

And and that's certainly I I feel that even you know, with the activities that you're describing, it it's also uh you also mentioned, you know, your colleague uh working on some of the uh nutrition, garden for nutrition, I think I believe is what you were calling it, and seeing how it's not just about, well, how do you grow this? How does this plant planted, but also uh where it came from, you know, the the world map. I love how you're sort of connecting that. Because these days I think more and more people, uh young and old, are exposed to you know so many uh potential, you know, things that improve our diet. And speaking of diet and and the importance of eating well and feeding your you know, microbiome, for example, and your gut, is it's something that right now I think we're all sort of more and more conscious about doing. That's great. And that in that you're the the students are being exposed to a lot of these things, you know, early on. What are uh and and I guess have any of your students so far in the years that you've been doing sort of you know moved on to careers or places where you've maybe taught to them? I'm curious about you know if if if you've had any experience right now with that.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

Like my past students when I was teaching, if they're just funny that you asked that. We were just at the Farm Bureau Fusion conference this last weekend, and two of my past students that I I spent a lot of time with were there, and both of them presented, and it was just this uh really warm and fuzzy uh you know experience to see two students that I had that I spent a lot of time with um

Careers Tech And How To Get Involved

SPEAKER_02 20:15

in the past doing so well. I of course I don't follow up on all of my students, um, but those are two that meant a lot to me, and it was just really cool seeing them both in in the same place doing really cool stuff. One actually um works for um she her and her husband have created a um nonprofit called Mind Your Melon, which deals with mental health and which just she's her they've been just doing some amazing stuff. Um, and then the other one, she worked for a corporate company for years and she knew she wanted to start her farm. So her and her husband were like, we're doing it, and they they they're first generation starting their farm. So um just very cool stuff that they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

It's always really rewarding. I I think um all of us here at uh Florida Again Growers over the years have also had near similar experience. I get the chance almost every year to go and talk to students at the University of Florida, and couldn't tell you how many times you know, some of those students in that particular course, and this is an organic and sustainable class, either have ended up coming and working and volunteering for Fog over the years. And just recently, one of those students uh started, you know, working as an organic inspector. And they come and say, Well, you know, you you came and or somebody else from Fogg came and talked to our class that got really interested and it made me want to pursue this career. So it is it is in many ways rewarding and letting us know that you know um a lot of what we're doing is making a difference with you know in people's lives. So that's that's that's great. So and then talk in talking of that, in your experience, what are some of the uh agricultural careers um that that your students, even the young students are maybe learning, didn't ex and didn't know, and maybe like being exposed to.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Um, I knew this question was coming, and it is a great question. The cool thing, I don't have a great answer, so I'm going to kind of go around this a little bit. The great thing about agriculture is anything that you want to do, you can do. If if you're an artist and you like to design, you can get into floral arranging, you can get into landscape design, you can do marketing. If you want to build things, like the amount of technology that is coming out and into facilities, uh, whether it be food or plants or animals, is mind-blowing. I learn new stuff all the time. So I I really would say don't let the word agriculture make you think it's the cows, plows, and sows kind of mentality. It anything you want to do, it's there. You just have to find it. And you have to start just talking to people and meeting people and seeing what's out there. Because I didn't know Florida Agro Classroom existed until I started teaching, and um, and it's you know, been life-changing.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

So yeah, yeah, definitely I can I can again relate to that. Um, in terms of uh, and this is something that you know I think we're all sort of talking about almost on a daily basis, but I'm curious about how sort of technology, maybe you know, AI, and some of the other tools that we have available. Have you seen how those tools or that sort of you know innovation uh fits into uh the classroom and maybe just the agriculture in general?

SPEAKER_02 23:33

So in the classroom, it's it's a little harder because a lot of that stuff it's expensive. And it the grants and stuff out there are they're there, but they're limited. So a lot of that really cool technology that is out there doesn't necessarily always trickle down into the classroom. I I know that Orange County has gotten some really great money to get some neat greenhouses and that stuff, but I would say the the biggest technology piece that classrooms are gonna see is the irrigation and that kind of stuff. And they have the setup where you can watch it all on your phone and you can program on your phone. That's the most that I have seen. And I know that there's probably high school programs that have amazing things that I just haven't seen yet. But um in the industry, it's changing fast and not changing fast because again, it's that money piece. We just we took a bunch of teachers um on farm tours in June and we went to a sod farm. Um, and we got to see this really cool piece of equipment that she the the grower said it actually replaces seven um workers, but they're actually in the process. So it's a really cool machine and they love it, but they're actually in the process of selling all those machines and they want to hire humans back. So I really think it's dependent on the farm and the operation because then we talked to another sod farmer that actually was a bigger one and had more, um, and they said they loved it. So I I just there's some definitely some cool stuff out there. Every time I learn about something new, it blows my mind. Um, because that was the first time I got to see uh a machine that cut the sod, put it on pallets, and dropped the pallets. Um some of the the growth, I mean, I've heard some like the horticulture, some of those. Uh we got to go to agri starts one time, and the way that they grow those plants with tissue culture, and they take one plant and turn it into like millions blows my mind too. So it's there's a lot out there that I don't know, but I love learning about it and getting to see new things.

SPEAKER_00 25:34

Oh, absolutely. And and um again, similarly, uh at least in my experience, often you're seeing all these new uh techniques, technologies. We have uh we work closely with uh a professor here at the University of Florida who teaches about uh you know vegetable grafting, for example. And and a lot of people they didn't know, and students even uh young students uh are really sort of you know impressed when you see that you can graft a tomato plant, for example, and and what that all means. Um and and so there's a lot of these other things that, as you were explaining, really are sort of really cool, not just for the students, but even as instructors sometimes for us to learn and be exposed to. Um and uh so we're getting close to uh the end of our podcast today. And again, can't thank you enough for you know joining us. Are there anything else that you maybe want to share with us, including the website and learning more about some of these um courses and lessons that are available and things that for you have been really rewarding about your work that you would like to share with us?

SPEAKER_02 26:49

So if you Google Florida Agriculture in the classroom, you will find us. Um we have many domains, it takes you back there, and all of our resources, again, are free. We we print some, we have some online, we will ship them to you. So just get on there and play around and see something, check it out and request it. I will say that we are getting close to the beginning of the school year, and those hands-on projects are expensive, but they're so worthwhile and valuable. So get on our website too in the next month. We're gonna have grants. So anybody that wants to educate students about where their food comes from, your grants are there. Um, anytime you can just I I know it's that you have to go above and beyond to do these hands-on projects. So you have to take it out of the book, but it's just so worth it. This week I've been reading our grant final reports and just it's so heartwarming. These kids that want to keep going and they want to try new things and they want to eat healthier things. They eat broccoli when they've never eaten broccoli before. So I say try, but start small. I love doing what I do because people are excited about it. It's it's a new thing to do with students to get them more um excited about learning and just getting to educate teachers. It's doing these teacher workshops around the state. We don't have any set in our books right now um coming up, but we will have some in the next couple months. It's just, I just I love talking to teachers around the state. I learn new things from them all the time, and it's just it's very rewarding. So we appreciate the teachers going above and beyond many that have never experienced agriculture before. They're like, you know what, I'm gonna try a garden and let's do it. So um I really, really appreciate the teachers we have here in Portham.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Yeah. Thank you, Becky, once again, for joining us today. Um, to everyone listening, we you know encourage you to learn more about Florida agriculture in the classroom. Visit the website, learn how to uh support the program because I think it is really making a you know a world of difference in many people's lives. And we certainly, you know, once again are grateful to you, Becky, for joining us today. And to everyone listening, uh, thank you so much for continuing to be a supporter of the Fresh Day podcast. We uh encourage you to continue listening and stay tuned for our next episode. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 29:06

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