Wilkinson Elementary Garden Yields Enough Crops For 'Stone Soup'

Wilkinson Elementary School students will enjoy items harvested from their school garden in a school-wide celebration of “stone soup.”

The project will unfold Monday through Wednesday, culminating in soup for lunch on Wednesday.

In the classic story, “Stone Soup,” a traveler stops at a house to ask for food and is told there is none to share. He then asks if he can boil some water and make soup out of a stone. As the water boils he asks for various items one by one to add a bit more flavor, and the “stone soup” eventually turns into hearty fare.

The first step in the garden-to-soup project came Monday when students from all grades picked carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, beans and onions from the garden. Elaine Pardey and Amy Roberts, Master Gardener volunteers with the University of Florida Extension Sarasota County, helped the students with the harvest. 

The students planted the garden in August, thanks to a grant from Whole Foods. Local Boy Scout Troop 14 helped prepare a plot of land on the school campus for the garden.

“Planting and maintaining the garden has been a very successful and rewarding experience for the students,” said Ayad, second grade teacher. “We are looking forward to making ‘stone soup’ so everyone can enjoy the results of their hard work.”

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Assistant Principal Melodie Deeds will read the story “Stone Soup” to students in the school’s media center. As items are added to the soup in the story, students will bring those ingredients in one by one. The school’s cafeteria manager, Cindy Herman, will prepare the soup using the fresh ingredients, and students will enjoy it for lunch Wednesday.

“This is a great learning experience for students to see where food actually comes from,” said Principal Ruth Thomas. “It also shows them how a team of people can work together to create something they all can enjoy.”