One of the Most Important Things You Can Teach Your Kids About Food

Thank you to Cuties for sponsoring this post!

I may have scarfed down my fair share of packaged junk as a child, but I also ate a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables—and I grew up understanding where they came from. My dad cultivated a sizable backyard vegetable garden, so our meals were full of fresh produce. And some of my favorite childhood memories are of picking huckleberries in the woods with my dad, strawberries at a local farm with my mom, and chestnuts from underneath my grandparents’ trees.

I’m trying my hardest to pass this gift along to my kids. We plant a garden, visit u-pick farms, eat veggies from our CSA box, and care for a friend’s chickens and collect the eggs when they travel. There’s no better way to teach a love of fresh food than letting your kids crunch on a snap pea straight from the vine or carry a still-warm egg home to cook.

We also have conversations about when different fruits and veggies are in season, what’s grown here in Ohio—and how we get everything else. My hope is that my kids will understand that food doesn’t just magically arrive at the grocery. Someone grew that food. Someone picked that food. And it’s going to taste a whole lot better if we eat that food at the height of its season.

I’m so happy to be partnering with Cuties to encourage parents to talk to their kids about where their food comes from.

As we transition from a bounty of fresh summer produce to the crisp temperatures of fall, it’s always a treat when Cuties appear at the supermarket. As a mom, I love that Cuties are seedless, easy for kids to peel themselves (see the video at the bottom of my third grader peeling one himself), and the right size for lunch boxes and little hands. As a dietitian, I love that Cuties are rich in vitamin C. I’m also thrilled when I see companies promoting fresh food to kids in a fun way. Children are surrounded by messages to eat fast food and drink soda—when we should be nurturing a love of healthy foods instead.

This fall, Cuties is helping parents do that. You can show your kids their “Grown With Love” video series that teaches children where Cuties come from and how they get to store shelves. They’re also encouraging families to interact with the real people who grow Cuties in California’s San Joaquin Valley. You and your kids can submit a question on the Cuties Facebook page and a Cuties grower will personally respond to your questions on Facebook. Just use the hashtag #AskAGrower.

Here’s the question I’m submitting: Are Cuties picked by hand or do any farm machines help remove the fruit from the trees?

Go here to submit your own question and then check in on Cuties’ Facebook throughout the month of December to see the answers!

How do you teach your kids where their food comes from?