You may have made a smoothie before, but have you ever used a bicycle to blend it? That’s exactly what was going on at the Egling Middle School Farm Stand in Colusa on Tuesday. Kids were lining up to take turns to jump on a bicycle blender. The faster they peddled, the faster an attachment at the back of the bike mixed up bananas, oranges and kale into a surprisingly tasty smoothie.
Creative produce tastings like bicycle-blended smoothies are just some of the ways the new school farm stand attracts customers. But mainly it’s been created to be place where Colusa families can buy fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Chico State’s Center for Healthy Communities, formerly CNAP, is the organization behind the project. Emily Koller, the project’s manager, said the farm stand is being paid for by a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant that seeks to increase the consumption of local produce and to help provide marketing opportunities for local producers.
Koller says so far the farm stand has seen a slow start with parents, but it does seem to have made impression on the kids.
“The afterschool kids have been coming out on their own and are really excited about the tastings that we’re doing,” Koller said. “And have even brought a couple bucks and bought kiwi for their afterschool snack or almonds or oranges or whatever little, usually fruit, that we have for sale. And they’re really excited about it. So that’s been an awesome surprise for us.”
The farm stand is located at Egling Middle School on the corner of 10th and Webster streets. It’s open from 2:30 to 5:30 in the evening with Thursday being one of the last days it will be open this school year. The next dates will be April 30, May 14 and May 21.
