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# Kids get a dose of freshness in Santa Monica
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/kids-get-a-dose-of-freshness-in-santa-monica/
- Published: 2004-11-11T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:29:05.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Downtown, #archive-import

*Farmers’ Market hosts local school kids each week*

*By KATHLEEN BISHOP Special to the Daily Press*

DOWNTOWN — When you’re 10 years old, chances are you aren’t too concerned with how fresh your food is, or even where it came from.

But about 100 kids from the inner city now may think more critically when food is served in front of them. Fifth graders from Los Angeles’ Vermont Elementary School visited Santa Monica’s bustling farmers’ market Wednesday as part of a program aimed at teaching them about fresh food and smart cooking.

Ivon liked the different sizes and flavors of potatoes. David learned about honey. Luis didn’t know there were so many kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Every year the American Institute of Wine and Food, a national non-profit organization made up of food professionals as well as amateur food lovers, sponsors Days of Taste, which consists of three days of field trips and good eating for students. In addition to the market visit, students cook and eat lunch at a local restaurant and help prepare a meal when a chef visits their classroom.

Cindy Baker’s fifth grade class was one of three that participated in the program this year. They toured the market, learned about different kinds of food and bought their favorite items with the $3 coupon each student received.

Laura Avery, who manages Santa Monica’s Farmers’ Market, said they host the students to teach them about freshness and seasonality of a wide array of foods.

“We tell them about how it’s grown by a farmer, how it’s fresh, how they drove it here at two in the morning,” she said. “We try to show them that food doesn’t just appear on the table.”

The students gathered under a tent at Arizona Avenue and the Third Street Promenade, listening to market coordina-tor Stephen Vodantis talk to them about gourds, guava and juicy raisins.

Persimmons were the biggest hit with the kids, who wore Days of Taste T-shirts and clutched their organic purchases.

“They’re just very surprised with how good it tastes and the different colors and sizes of everything because at the supermarket everything is so uniform,” Vodantis said.

Darien Morea, a catering manager and cookbook author, is volunteering for Days of Taste as a group leader for her second year. She said the institute sponsors the program in the spirit of enlightenment and education.

“We want to introduce them to something new, to the joy of cooking and to nature,” she said. “There is just so much for them to learn.”

The market also hosts one school group each Wednesday from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District as a part of an educational food program that originated with the district’s organic salad bar.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/111104-01_01.jpg)

Santa Monica Farmers’ Market coordinator Stephen Vodantis explains organic vegetables to fifth graders on Wednesday. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 11, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/111104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)