For some students from the Jefferson City Academic Center, working with the NEEED Project Heart of Missouri Garden was their first time picking vegetables from a garden.
The NEEED project is a nonprofit community garden that focuses on nutrition, energy, environmental and economic development.
On Thursday, the students learned how to properly pick a tomato from a vine.
"I learned how to pick a tomato without killing the vine" said Summer Schanta, 17. "Now I will be able to show my grandmother how to pick tomatoes on her farm and help her select the best tomatoes."
Cooking instructor Jennifer Milne and biology teacher Lori Rosburg thought it would be great for the students to have the opportunity to experience what the NEEED project was all about.
"This farm is run by volunteers" Rosburg said. "And this is an opportunity for the students to be apart of that."
Milne added, "From this experience, the students will learn what the phrase from 'farm to table' means."
The students will use the tomatoes to make salsa from scratch in Milne's cooking class.
Since 2013, the NEEED project has grown organic vegetables that are donated to centers throughout the Jefferson City community.
"I want the students to have a sense of community," Milne said. "I want them to recognize that they are giving back to the community."
Jack Ryan, chairman of the NEEED project, opened the garden to all opportunities for continued growth and volunteerism. He was grateful the students wanted to come learn and embrace the idea of a community garden.
"This experience has really inspired me to go to college and get my own land," said Falycady Spence, 19-year-old student at JCAC.