Pueblo chiles spice up Colorado classrooms
(PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo.) — Students across all corners of our state are experiencing the fiery flavor of the Pueblo chile, while also gaining insights into the unique characteristics of this special produce grown in southern Colorado.
“Farmers and ranchers represent only about 2% of the population, which is a pretty small amount,” said Guest Reader with Agriculture in the Classroom, McCall Knecht. “Everybody eats multiple times a day, so we need to know where our food comes from and connect the dots of farming and ranching to that food and this program does that.”
At North Mesa Elementary School, one fourth-grade class had the pleasure of welcoming Knecht as their special guest, who led an interactive learning experience all about the Pueblo chile.
“This year is particularly special because it’s about the Pueblo chile, we’d be remiss not to hit all of the Pueblo schools and elementary schools,” said Knecht.
Currently, 1,050 classrooms statewide are engaged in the Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom Literacy Project, a free program designed for preschool to fifth-grade classes. This interactive learning experience teaches students agriculture stories in our state with a new topic and book featured each year.
“We read the book ‘Seeds, Sprout, Spice! All About Pueblo Chiles,’ then we did a tasting experience, so the kids got a taste for chilies that they just read about, and this came with several resources, educational resources that hits math, science, literacy, the arts,” Knecht said. “It’s all put together in one nice program.”
This book hits close to the heart for Knecht, as she has personal connections to both the Pueblo pepper and the people who wrote the book.
“The book ‘Seeds, Sprout, Spice! All About Pueblo Chiles,’ is written by Rachel Allnutt, who happens to be my sister, and illustrated by Sierra Linke, who happens to be my cousin,” said Knecht.
As these fourth graders eagerly listened to Knecht, they learned of the immense pride that they should hold for their Pueblo pepper, grown right in their own home soil.
“It was developed in Pueblo and not any other city in Colorado,” said Sonia Garcia, North Mesa Elementary School Fourth Grader.
While students all across the state are able to participate in this program, it was particularly meaningful for this classroom to discover their deep connection to the origins of the Pueblo chile.
“Pueblo chiles are a Colorado proud produce and it’s grown right here, right in our backyard,” Knecht said. “We can see Pueblo chile fields right outside of the classroom door here and making sure that Pueblo kids are proud about this food that’s grown right here, so that we can all unify and gather together around this amazing product. “
This learning experience not only ignites students’ minds but also gives them a literal taste of the heat, thanks to local farmers who provided Pueblo chiles for the students to enjoy.
“It’s really important to us to share the food that is grown and so we connected with Pueblo chile farmers to get their roasted, diced, frozen chilies before the kids to actually taste the food that they just learned about and to really make it a holistic experience for them,” said Knecht.
For students like Araceli “Bella” Maestas, tasting a Pueblo chile for the first time was a memorable experience. Her advice after feeling the heat was, “you should eat them because they are pretty good as long as you take smaller bites.”
Others in the class, like Cash Brake, shared that these Pueblo chiles were “the best I’ve ever had.”
With classrooms statewide eager to participate in this one-of-a-kind learning experience, Knecht explained that it’s leading them to request for additional support.
“Colorado AG in the Classroom is looking for donations currently because we only budgeted for 700 classrooms this year and we’re already at 1000,” Knecht said. “We’re looking for some ways to fill that gap because people are crazy about chiles, which is a great problem to have, but we’re shipping 1,000 pounds of chiles all across the state and that costs money.”
At the end of the day, these North Mesa Elementary School students were left with a lasting memory, one that reminds them of the significance of their roots.
“What’s really special about Pueblo County and this area is that we grow a very wide variety of vegetables and fruits in this area, which hit all of those nutrition highlights that we want,” Knecht said. “It’s right here in our backyard, so connecting the kids to the food that’s grown right here.”
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