On a Saturday just before the rainy season began, with the cooperation of the after-school NPO "Afterschool," we held a bus tour for children living in children's homes to experience vegetable harvesting.

This activity aims to foster children's interest in food by introducing them to agriculture, while also encouraging them to think about their future through interaction with volunteer employees of Zensho Group, as they usually have few opportunities to interact with working adults in their daily lives at the facility. This event follows the" Sukiya Kitchen Car Lunch Exchange Meeting" held previously.

At Zensho Farm Kita-Kanto, a farm operated by Zensho Group, we held a quiz rally where participants could learn about agriculture, with vegetable harvesting and cooking as the main activities.

The participants this time included 17 children residing at the children's welfare facility "Seibi Home" (Kita Ward, Tokyo) and 15 employees and volunteers from Zensho Group. On the bus heading to the farm, the children and employee volunteers introduced themselves to each other, and then a quiz competition about the onions and cabbages they would be harvesting was held. The quiz included questions ranging from easy to difficult, and the bus was filled with excitement as they arrived at the farm.

We met up with the members of Zensho Farm North Kanto who would teach us about harvesting, put on our work gloves and boots, and headed straight to the field.
Each group receives careful instruction on harvesting methods, and sometimes adults help them as they proceed with the harvest. At first, the children are hesitant, but as they get the hang of it, they gradually become more skilled at harvesting.
"I got it!"
Each time they harvest a vegetable, cheerful voices can be heard. They raise the vegetables to the sky, expressing their joy of harvesting with their whole bodies.

This time, we harvested onions and cabbage. Some were big, others small. Even when grown in the same field, some vegetables grow well, while others do not. The children witnessed firsthand how easily the growth of vegetables that they had carefully cultivated from seed can be affected by environmental factors and weather.

Afterward, they tried their hand at cooking Gyudon and miso soup using the harvested vegetables.

Gyudon made with vegetables we harvested ourselves.
I'm sure they found it exceptionally delicious.

After the meal, there was a quiz rally and a tractor tour.
At the eight checkpoints of the quiz rally, questions about agriculture were presented.
The children took part in a quiz, seeing, touching, and experiencing the different tools to learn what each one was used for.
The tractors were incredibly impressive. We also saw machines that spray water and pesticides in operation. Everyone seemed excited by this sight, which was full of first-time experiences.

On the bus ride back, we reflect on the day's activities with the employee volunteers.
We heard positive comments about the future, such as, "Farming seems tough, but I'd like to try it," and "I'd like to work with the people on the farm."

We tend to think of vegetables as something easily available at the supermarket, but by learning about the difficulties and complexities of vegetable cultivation and actually experiencing it, we may have gained a greater appreciation for the ingredients we eat every day.

Zensho will continue to provide children living under social care with opportunities for various experiences, thereby fostering their self-esteem and self-confidence.