Fruits and Vegetables Spring 2016 Ag in the Classroom North Dakota Many types of fruits and vegetables can be grown in North Dakota. Some are grown in backyard gardens or community gardens for use by families. Some vegetables, such as potatoes, are grown in large fields and sold throughout the U.S. Look for apples, squash, potatoes, corn on the cob and many other foods grown in North Dakota in grocery stores, roadside stands or farmers markets during the summer and fall.
Production Potatoes! Circle the correct word to accurately complete each sentence. 1. Potatoes are a big industry in North Dakota. In 2014, 79,000 (akers or acres) were planted to potatoes. 2. This is about the size of 60,000 football (fields or feilds). 3. All these acres produced more than 24 (millyon or million) pounds of potatoes. 4. That would be the (wait or weight) of 80,000 football linemen. 5. The (farmer s or farmers ) value of the potato crop was $224 million. After the potatoes were packaged or processed, their value increased to $836 million. 6. North Dakota farmers grow red, yellow, white and (russet or rusit) potatoes. 7. Each potato has a different (perpose or purpose). White potatoes are made into potato chips. Red and yellow potatoes are washed, bagged and sent to the store to be purchased. Russet potatoes are made into french fries. 8. On (avrage or average), each person in the U.S. eats 111 pounds of potatoes each year. That s about 1/3 pound of potatoes each day, or eating one medium-sized potato. That makes potatoes America s favorite vegetable. Circle the vegetables and fruits that can be grown in North Dakota. Apples Potatoes Strawberries Tomatoes Leafy greens (lettuce, spinach) Onions Pumpkins Raspberries Sweet corn Snap beans Squash Grapes Think Like a Plant Scientist Plant foods are classified into six groups: 1. Roots grow underground, absorb water and soil nutrients, and hold the plant in the ground. 2. Stems provide the plant with physical support above the ground. Stems also have inner parts that move nutrition in the plant. 3. Leaves help make food for the plant. 4. Flowers attract bees to the plant so the buds can grow into fruits. 5. Fruits grow from the flowers on plants and contain seeds. 6. Seeds grow into new plants when the conditions are right. Draw a line from the fruit or vegetable to its class. Celery Broccoli Strawberry Corn Spinach Radish Carrot Squash Roots Stems Leaves Flowers Fruits Seeds 2
Processing Follow the Food System to a Place Near You In our food system, foods are grown, harvested, packaged and transported from the place they are grown to a grocery store, school or restaurant. Match Them Up Write the letter of the definition on the line by the term. Production Processing Distribution Consumption Composting/recycling A. Preparing and eating fruits and vegetables B. Washing, cutting, mixing and packaging fruits and vegetables C. Allowing the fruits and vegetables to break down to be returned to the soil D. Growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables E. Transporting, storing, advertising and selling fruits and vegetables Just Preserve It Fruits and vegetables can be preserved (or processed) in different ways to keep them safe and tasty to eat. They can be canned, frozen, dried, made into jams and jellies, or even fermented (sauerkraut, for example). List two fruits and two vegetables in each category. Fruit Vegetable Dried Canned Frozen 3
Distribution Take Your Taste Buds on a Trip Around the World Can we grow bananas, oranges or lemons in North Dakota? We wish! We need to import (or bring in) some fruits and vegetables from other states or countries because our growing conditions are not right for them. Color the North American and South American countries on the map as noted. Also, mark an X on the line by the fruits and vegetables you have tasted. Leading Producers Oranges (Brazil) red Avocados (Mexico) yellow Cranberries (U.S.) blue Leading Suppliers of U.S. Imports Tomatoes (Mexico) yellow Potatoes (Canada) orange Grapes (Chile) green Pineapples (Costa Rica) purple Bananas (Guatemala) red Asparagus (Peru) yellow Peas (Ecuador) orange Strawberries (Argentina) purple Orange juice (Brazil) red Bananas (Honduras) green Lemons (Colombia) blue 4
Career Corner Caryl Lester Town Square Farmers Market Director Grand Forks, N.D. Caryl Lester s job combines the promotion of locally grown food with creativity and business skills. As director of the Town Square Farmers Market in Grand Forks, Caryl reserves the market location, coordinates the advertising efforts, creates posters, and updates brochures, vendor guidelines and application forms. She is responsible for all of the finances, as well as state and federal reporting. Caryl also helps local growers with creative marketing and networking. The market sells a variety of items, including locally grown produce; fresh eggs; grass-fed beef and lamb; homemade breads, pies and lefse; and home-canned foods. The vendors also sell jewelry, pottery, baskets and handmade items. Caryl has loved farmers markets from her early days growing up in Vancouver, Wash. Right across the river in Portland, Ore., was the most fabulous farmers markets with great food, live entertainment, booth after booth of locally grown fruits and vegetables, crafts and activities, she says. The Portland market had all the smells, colors and sounds that you expect to experience at a great farmers market. When the opportunity to impact and support our local market was presented to me, I happily agreed to step in as the director. Caryl brings business, marketing and communication experience to her position as director, and she is motivated to continue to develop and improve the Town Square Farmers Market. She thinks that when considering a career in any field, anyone will benefit from finding a generous mentor who will expose him or her to the responsibility and efforts required for the career. She also notes that those thinking of a career with local foods or farmers markets should expect more of a personal return than a financial one. There may not be a lot of money to be made, but the potential to make a difference is huge! she says. 5
Consumption MyPlate says you should fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, but you need foods from all the food groups to stay healthy. Besides fruits and vegetables, you need protein, grains and dairy. Fruit or Vegetable? A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. A dietitian/nutritionist is a scientist who helps people make healthful food choices. These two people view fruits and vegetables differently. A botanist calls a plant food with seeds a fruit. Tomatoes and zucchini are fruits of the plant. A dietitian/nutritionist looks at how the food is used on your menu. Tomatoes and zucchini are considered vegetables on MyPlate because you use them as vegetables. List the foods you ate from the fruits and vegetables group yesterday. 6
Try This at Home Do you like salsa? Have you tried making it with a little help from an adult? Here s an easy recipe with many ingredients that are grown in North Dakota. Black Bean Salsa 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 medium tomato, diced 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (or to taste) 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 2 Tbsp. lime juice or lemon juice Safety first: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before you prepare food. Have an adult help you when cutting vegetables. Be careful when you handle hot peppers such as jalapeno peppers. Wear plastic gloves and do not rub your eyes, even if they itch. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together. Serve with baked tortilla chips. Math Challenge 1. If you doubled this recipe (multiplied the ingredients by 2), how much green pepper would you need? green pepper 2. If you made this recipe four times, how many ounces of canned black beans would you need? ounces 3. If you wanted to make half of the recipe, how much cilantro would you need? cup cilantro 4. According to this Nutrition Facts label, if you ate three servings of the salsa, how many calories would you consume? calories 5. If you had one-half of a serving, what percent of your daily vitamin C would you consume? % 6. How much saturated fat would five servings have? grams (g) What s cilantro anyway? Cilantro is a leafy green herb also known as Chinese parsley. You can grow it in your North Dakota garden to add a spicy flavor to salsa. The seeds of cilantro are known as coriander. 7
Find the answers to the activities in this Ag Mag and learn more about fruits and vegetables at www.ag.ndsu.edu/agmag. The North Dakota Ag Mag is a project of the North Dakota Agriculture in the Classroom Council, which is organized through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. N.D. Department of Agriculture 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602 Bismarck, ND 58505-0020 Voice: 701-328-2231 Toll-free: 1-800-242-7535 Fax: 701-328-4567 Email: ndda@nd.gov Web: www.nd.gov/ndda Ag Classroom in the North Dakota Ag Mag Production by North Dakota State University Agriculture Communication: Julie Garden-Robinson, Writer; Becky Koch, Editor; David Haasser, Graphic Designer Thank you to the following for providing information for this issue of North Dakota Ag Mag: Dig In! Standards-Based Nutrition Education from the Ground Up. Team Nutrition. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Available from www.fns.usda.gov/tn/dig-lessons Choose MyPlate. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Available from www.choosemyplate.gov National Center for Home Food Preservation. U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Georgia. Available from http://nchfp.uga.edu/ Town Square Farmer s Market, Grand Forks, ND, www.tsfarmersmarket.com www.farmandranchguide.com To sponsor the next AgMag, please call Margaret Kiefer, Farm & Ranch Guide Special Projects, 800-530-5714 or email: mkiefer@farmandranchguide.com