By Amanda Charland
VINS Camp Program Coordinator
I subscribe to the school of thought that food should be local, fresh, and simple. The best sandwich I’ve ever had – made while working on an organic farm here in Vermont — followed all of these guidelines. It featured crusty local bread smeared with fresh garlic goat cheese, topped with a beautiful array of crisp greens and sun-sweetened peppers. Eaten under the sun in a field with birds swirling above and bees buzzing by made it the world’s best sandwich!
This summer, VINS Nature Camps will feature The Nature of Food, a children’s camp session dedicated to really getting to know food.
It’s important to educate kids about eating well, and that learning should be fun. The food-lover and naturalist in me couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my day than on a farm: working outside, playing with the earth, knowing what’s healthy and eating fresh food from a garden that I grew on my own. 
The taste is irresistible! That’s why I’m developing an exciting curriculum for our summer camp, The Nature of Food. Kids will learn to create a vegetable garden here at VINS, play games about plant growth, and visit a working farm. We will even make a trip to King Arthur Flour in Norwich to learn about milling grains and make our own delicious and nutritious treats!
You can find more information about The Nature of Food and our other awesome camps at http://www.vinsweb.org/index.php/discover/nature-camp.