Have you ever stopped to wonder where your food really comes from? While most of us simply grab groceries off the shelf, there is a fascinating journey behind every bite, and it often starts with something simple: plants.

Let us take a sausage and cheese pizza and discover its origin, way before it got to the frozen aisle of the grocery store.

Pizza crust is made from wheat, which is a plant. Cheese is a dairy product from cows. Cows feed on grass, hay and grain, which are all plants! Sausage comes from pigs. Pigs eat corn and vegetation. Pizza sauce is made from tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs, and guess what? Those are all plants.

The United Nations reports that plants account for 80% of the food we eat.

Many of these plants need to be pollinated to produce their fruit. Pollination is the movement of pollen from the anther (male part) of one flower to the pistil (female part) of another plant. Bees, hummingbirds and butterflies are examples of pollinators. Scientists estimate that 1 in 3 bites of food we eat can be traced back to the role of pollinator.

Would you like to learn how to grow food? There is nothing like going out to your garden and picking fresh vegetables! Well, we have an opportunity for you! The Ohio State University Masters Gardeners will offer a Junior Master Garden for kids in grades K-12. Participants will learn about soil, plant seeds, watch them grow and harvest their own crops! In addition, we also have a pollinator garden. One of the plants we grow is milkweed, a favorite food for monarch butterflies. We also grow sunflowers and have a bed full of herbs. This past year we have added hydrangeas, roses and zinnia flowers. We also entered garlic and daisies at the Canfield Fair.

Our hope is to instill the love of gardening in kids. They will get their hands dirty, make new friends and enjoy the great outdoors. In addition, research has shown that gardening boosts kids’ interest in school and learning, improves their attitudes about eating healthy foods and caring for the environment. Plus, it is fun!

Starting May 5, we will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays for about one hour. Parental involvement is required.

The garden is located at St. Patrick Church’s Community Garden at 1420 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.

We hope you can join us! For questions, call the OSU Extension at 330-533-5538.

Kacenski is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.