Homegrown in Your State: Fruits and Vegetables

Students explore their state's specialty crops, discover how food gets from the farm to the table, and discuss the importance of eating fruits and vegetables every day.

Grades: K – 2
Estimated Time: 45 minutes
Updated: September 13, 2024

US map with fruits and vegetables — Image: NCAL Team

Background

Materials Needed

Engage:

MyPlate Activity Poster (Available for purchase from agclassroomstore.com) or MyPlate Image
Where Do Fruits and Vegetables Come From? video

Activity 1: From Farm to Lunch

State Agricultural Facts
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? by Chris Butterworth
Follow That Food - Carrot Edition

Activity 2: What Am I?

What Am I? Cards, 1 set printed and cut into cards
Pocket chart (optional)

Vocabulary

climate: the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over a long period of time
consumer: a person who buys and uses goods and services
cultivate: to prepare (land or soil) for the growth of crops; to plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labor or skill
floriculture: the cultivation of flowers
fruit: the part of a plant that develops from the flower and contains the seeds of the plant
horticulture: the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants
specialty crop: fruits, tree nuts, vegetables, herbs, spices, nursery, floriculture, and horticulture crops that are not considered staple foods.
vegetable: any edible part of a plant that does not contain seeds

Background Agricultural Connections

One US farmer produces enough food to feed 172 people worldwide, but farmers are not the only workers involved in making food available to the consumer.¹ Agriculture, food, and related industries employ 21.6 million American workers.² These jobs include harvesting, storing, transporting, processing, packaging, and selling the food we eat. Farms are the source of almost all the food we consume.

In most cases, some, but not all, of the foods people eat are grown in their state. While most states produce their own milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and grains, the availability of certain foods depends upon season. The climate and soil of a particular region determines the types of foods that can be grown. Consumer demands influence the items that stores and restaurants offer. Many people want to be able to eat fresh fruits and vegetables in the middle of the winter or out of season. Grocery stores meet these demands by having food transported from other regions of the United States and even from other countries.

Specialty crops are fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture, that are cultivated or managed and used by people for food, medicinal purposes, and/or aesthetic gratification.³ Local specialty crops can be found at grocery stores, food co-ops, farmers' markets, and plant and garden centers. Below is a list of state programs that promote local foods:

Buy Alabama's Best
Alaska Grown
Arizona Grown
Arkansas Grown
CA (California) Grown
Colorado Proud
CT (Connecticut) Grown
Delaware Grown
Fresh From Florida
Georgia Grown
Hawai'i Seals of Quality
Idaho Preferred
Illinois Buy Fresh Buy Local
Indiana Grown
Choose Iowa
From the Land of Kansas
Kentucky Proud
Louisiana Grown. Real. Fresh.
Get Real. Get Maine.
Maryland's Best
Massachusetts Grown...and Fresher!
Pure Michigan
Minnesota Grown
Genuine MS (Mississippi) Grown
AgriMissouri
Made in Montana
Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska
Made in Nevada
New Hampshire Made
(New Jersey) Jersey Fresh
(New Mexico) Taste the Tradition
New York State Grown and Certified
Got to Be NC (North Carolina)
Pride of North Dakota
Ohio Proud
Made in Oklahoma
Buy Oregon Agriculture
PA (Pennsylvania) Preferred
Get Fresh Buy Local (Rhode Island)
Certified South Carolina Grown
South Dakota Local Foods Directory
Pick Tennessee Products
Go Texan
Utah's Own
Dig in Vermont
Virginia Grown and Virginia's Finest
Washington Grown
West Virginia Grown
Something Special from Wisconsin
Grown in Wyoming

The activities in this lesson will promote a natural curiosity about how food affects health while reinforcing food and agriculture as a connection to a better quality of life. Understanding what it takes to promote food will help students make the association between the land, farmers and ranchers, and the grocery store.

Lesson Activities

Engage

Hang up the MyPlate Poster or project the MyPlate Image onto a large screen. Ask the students, "How much of your plate should hold fruits and vegetables?" (Half)
Ask the students, "Why are fruits and vegetables important?" (Fruits and vegetables are low in fat and calories and high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber that help make our bodies strong and keep us healthy.)
Show the class the Where Do Fruits and Vegetables Come From? video to help introduce the topic of fruits and vegetables.
Explain to the students that they are going to explore specific fruits and vegetables, called specialty crops, that are grown in their state. Specialty crops are crops grown and used by people for food, medicine, or decorations. Fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, herbs, and flowers are all examples of specialty crops.

Explore and Explain

Activity 1: From Farm to Lunch

Ask the students to raise their hands if they have a garden or have helped in a garden. Ask, "What did you grow in the garden?"
Explain to the students that not all fruits and vegetables can be grown in their state.
Have the class brainstorm fruits and vegetables that they are familiar with. Point out what kind of climate each grow in. For example, bananas grow in a warm, frost-free climate.
Pull out a world map or globe. Point to where your state is located and talk about what fruits and vegetable can best be grown in the state. Use the website for your state found in the Background Agricultural Connections section of this lesson for ideas. In addition, visit the State Agricultural Facts webpage and click on your state for more information about your state's agricultural resources.
Ask the students, "How do fruits and vegetables get to our cafeteria or in your lunchbox?"
Read the book How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? by Chris Butterworth and watch the video Follow That Food - Carrot Edition.
Discuss the steps it takes to get food from the farm to your lunch:
- Planting
- Growing
- Harvesting
- Processing
- Transporting
- Preparing
- Serving

Activity 2: What Am I?

Optional: Prior to this activity, create additional What Am I? Cards specific to fruit and vegetable specialty crops grown in your state. Use the website for your state found in the Background Agricultural Connections section of this lesson and the State Agricultural Facts webpage for ideas.
Discuss the differences between a fruit and a vegetable. Emphasize that a fruit is the part of the plant that develops from the flower and contains the seeds of the plant. A vegetable is any edible part of the plant—root, stem, leaf, or flower—that does not contain seeds.
Read the clue on each What Am I? Card aloud to the class. Have the students determine whether the food on the card is a fruit or a vegetable and whether or not it is grown in your state. Sort the cards in a pocket chart or on the floor.

This lesson explores foundational concepts about how climate and geography impact the production of our food and the location of farms throughout the United States and abroad. If you teach in the following states, refer to your local agricultural literacy geography resources:

Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
North Carolina: Sweetpotatoes; Strawberries
Oregon

Evaluate

After conducting these activities, review and summarize the following key concepts:

Specialty crops are grown and used by people for food, medicine, or decoration. Fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, herbs, and flowers are all examples of specialty crops.
Before fruits and vegetables arrive in the grocery store, plants are planted and grown, and the food must be harvested, transported, processed, and packaged.
It is recommended that you fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and fat and high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber that help make our bodies strong and keep us healthy.

Recommended Companion Resources

Book • A Moose Boosh: A Few Choice Words About Food
Poster/Infographic • Dig In! Posters
Book • Eating the Alphabet
Book • Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers' Market
Book • Fruit Bowl
Book • How Did That Get in My Lunchbox?
Movie/Video • How Does it Grow? Video Series
Book • How Food gets from Farms to Store Shelves
Book • I Love Blueberries!
Booklet/Reader • Learn More: Farmers Market
Book • Miss MacDonald has a Farm
Website • MyPlate
Poster/Infographic • MyPlate Activity Poster
Book • Our Food Grows
Poster/Infographic • Plant Part Chart
Website • Producepedia
Book • The Fruits We Eat
Book • The Life of a Potato
Poster/Infographic • Tree Fruits Flowchart
Book • Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat
Poster/Infographic • Vegetables Flowchart
Poster/Infographic • What is a Fruit? What is a Vegetable? Bulletin Boards
Book • Who Grew My Soup?

Credits

Author

Angie Greer | Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom

Acknowledgements

"What Am I?" game adapted from pbhfoundation.org.

Sources

https://www.agfoundation.org/files/FFF_Graphic_US_Farm_Feeds.jpg
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=58282
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp/specialty-crop

Standards

National Content Area Standards

Social Studies – Economics
- Economics Standard 2 (Grades K-2): Decision Making
  - Objective (Grades K-2): Make effective decisions as consumers, producers, savers, investors, and citizens.
Social Studies – Geography
- Geography Standard 11 (Grades K-2): The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.
  - Objective 1: People engage in economic activities, such as producing goods and offering services, in order to earn a living.
  - Objective 2: Some locations are better suited than others to provide certain goods and services.
  - Objective 4: Networks of transportation and communications are used to move information, products, and people.
Social Studies – History
- NCSS 7 (Grades K-2): Production, Distribution, and Consumption
  - Objective 8: The goods and services produced in the market and those produced by the government.

Agricultural Literacy Outcomes

Agriculture and the Environment
- Provide examples of how weather patterns affect plant and animal growth for food (T1.K-2.d)
Culture, Society, Economy & Geography
- Identify plants and animals grown or raised locally that are used for food, clothing, shelter, and landscapes (T5.K-2.d)
Food, Health, and Lifestyle
- Identify healthy food options (T3.K-2.a)
Plants and Animals for Food, Fiber & Energy
- Identify examples of feed/food products eaten by animals and people (T2.K-2.c)

Common Core Standards

Anchor Standards – Speaking and Listening
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

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