Farm to School Education
Education is key to building a strong community food system, and we believe in the power of youth to bring about these changes. We partner with the Columbia Falls school district to manage a comprehensive Farm to School education program for kids in grades K-12.
Wildcat Garden | Wildcat Garden Club | Fresh Snack Friday | Harvest of the Month | Food Systems Lessons
Wildcat Garden
The Wildcat Garden is a ½ acre school garden located at the Columbia Falls Junior High. Land to Hand manages the garden and teaches hands-on gardening and cooking classes to about 1,800 youth each year. Together, we are teaching kids to grow, cook, and eat locally grown fruits and vegetables through in-school lessons, after-school programming, summer camps, and sharing the bounty with kids during the school day and local families. The Wildcat Garden is a place where all kids bloom and grow while learning about where their food comes from and how to grow and enjoy it.
Location: 1805 Talbot Rd, Columbia Falls, MT 59912
Volunteer With UsCheck out our Summer Camp!
Wildcat Garden Club
During the school year, Land to Hand hosts a weekly after-school club for students at the Columbia Falls Junior High. The Wildcat Garden Club takes place in the Wildcat Garden seasonally and indoors for the winter months. Through hands-on engaging activities, students learn about gardening, seed saving, cooking, nutrition, art, community service, and more!
Fresh Snack Friday
The goal of this program is to supplement the shelf stable food we provide through the Weekend Backpack Program with a fresh fruit or vegetable snack available to all students Pre-K to 8th grade in the Columbia Falls School District weekly on Fridays. Our goal is to eventually source one hundred percent of these snacks from local farmers.
Volunteer with us!
Harvest of the Month
Together with the Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers at the Columbia Falls Junior High and High School, we offer monthly taste tests to Columbia Falls School District Students. We follow the Montana Harvest of the Month calendar which has recipes and activities highlighting seasonal, locally available, Montana-grown products.
Each month, we lead students in making a seasonal recipe and then sample it out to students who get to vote on if they “tried it”, “liked it”, or “loved it”. Through Harvest of the Month we teach kids about local and seasonal Montana foods, encourage them to try new things, teach cooking and food safety skills, and purchase from Montana farmers and ranchers.
Learn More about Harvest of the Month
Food Systems Lessons
This program is designed to connect kids with local food through educational lessons and a coupon to spend at farmers markets. We connect with fifth-grade classrooms across the valley to teach a Food Systems lesson (“Food Miles) about the impact of where our food comes from. Students can then go to the Kalispell, Whitefish, or Columbia Falls farmers market to redeem a free $5 coin that they can spend on fruits, vegetables, or plants that grow food. The goal is to motivate local students to visit the farmers market and understand what our local area has to offer.
Food Systems Lesson PlanFood Systems & School Coins Lesson Plan
School Coins Food Miles Lesson
Download Food Miles Lesson Plan by Land to Hand MT
School Coins Farmers Market Handout
Download School Coins Farmers Market Handout by Land to Hand MT