Official Kids Mag November 2024 | Page 28

CLUBS continued from page 27
Irwin is thinking about all kinds of cooking skills she will be able to teach to children about how to eat well , be healthy and to know how to care for themselves and others . She wants to teach them to safely make and serve food to their families . Because kids can be great cooks .
“ Kids are just awesome and they are fun ,” she said . Most of the kids will grow up and make meals for themselves and their families , which is a very important life skill . A few of them may like to cook for a career in restaurants or to feed large groups . How about at schools , or aboard a cruise ship , or at a bakery that makes fancy desserts ?
Some ingredients are homegrown
At the Evans Unit , kids are already growing foods that
Jaylin Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team with his Boys & Girls Club mural . can be given to the clubs ’ new kitchen .
In the Evans Gardening Club , kids plant , water , weed and then harvest vegetables . They grow all kinds of good foods including potatoes , tomatoes and salad greens . They get together on Saturday mornings to do the work .
They also have made a worm farm where they are learning that worms eat foods in the dirt and leave behind “ castings ” that can be added to garden soil . Ok , yes , it is worm poop ! But it ’ s also called Black Gold because it is a teriffic fertilizer .
But there is even more on the Evans Garden Club farm . There are also chickens in a chicken coop ! These pretty hens lay eggs that can also be cooked in the central kitchen . Eggs are needed for baking , so think cookies and cakes . Eggs are also a good breakfast food , of course .
Rod Miller , a grown-up volunteer , teaches and helps the kids who are in the garden club . He is very glad that kids will have the chance to learn to cook the good food they have grown , he said .
“ I tell everybody that when we grew this , we put a lot of work into it ,” he said . “ Now , we have to do something with it !” Supplying the kitchen and cooking lessons are two great things to do .
Miller has shown the kids that some plants grown without sprays or chemicals are perfectly ok to eat right out of the garden . Yes , they should be washed first but every now and then its fun to pop a little fruit or berry right into your mouth .
Miller likes to get his hands right into the dirt with the garden club members . They will also be using a greenhouse and hoop house so that they can keep growing some plants in cold weather .
So from the club farm to the club kitchen , homegrown food is coming to the clubs ’ tables .
The Boys & Girls Clubs are for learning and playing
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Smith make learning life skills a lot of fun . Kids who attend are always offered education , recreation , all kids of arts , music , dance and exercise , team sports and just plain fun
Lots of hamburgers on their way to club kids .
in a safe place to learn and grow .
Some kids attend the Boys & Girls Club for many years from the ages 6 to 18 . There ’ s always something for every age group to enjoy .
Over the years , lots of club members have grown up be outstanding in some way . Two professional basketball players for the Oklahoma City Thunder visited the clubs this summer because they grew up in Fort Smith . They are Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams . The club members were very excited to see them and learn some basketball moves !
Jaylin Williams went to the Jeffrey-Glidewell unit when he was a young guy . To celebrate his success , the clubs asked an artist to paint a huge mural of Jaylin . In the big painting , he is wearing a Fort Smith Boys & Girls club basketball uniform . This big organization is operated as a non-profit by community contributions .
Because it serves free meals to kids , it is able to receive other grants to pay for the things it needs . The new kitchen and garden programs are being paid for by in-town givers like businesses and also by grants from the US Department of Agriculture , which granted $ 75,000 to help the clubs give free meals to children and to teach them about healthy nutrition . Kids who have meals made with wholesome foods are healthier , learn more successfully and have a good feeling of security and happiness .
28 • November 2024 • www . OfficialKidsMag . com