MUNCIE, IND. — Young students gather in the on-campus greenhouse to host an event called Tropics to Table. In this event, the plants that the students grew were turned into culinary food for guests at the event to dine on.
Along with the food, guests were also invited to explore the greenhouse in its entirety, with a new scavenger hunt meant for a younger audience.
With the intent of spreading awareness on how food travels throughout the world, environmental educator Erica Oliver spoke out about the importance of maintaining food throughout the world.
“Especially during the pandemic and the recession in 2008, when there are stressors due to illness or supply chains, our food is impacted,” says Oliver. “There are times we do not see things in grocery stores we expect to see, because they are grown in other parts of the world, and it is hard to get them there.”
As the event came to a close, student workers for the greenhouse gave out information about maintaining plants in the wild.
“Especially with tropical plants, we can help adults and kids kind of learn where their food comes from, to let them know that it just doesn’t grow in supermarkets,” said Gabriela Weiner who is a student worker at Reinhard Greenhouse.
Young students at Ball State are certain that the creation and maintenance of the greenhouse will bring more cultural knowledge to Ball State.
Contact Trey Lawrence with comments at trey.lawrence@bsu.edu
