TAMPA, Fla. — Recent food recalls involving fruits and vegetables have some people thinking more about where their food comes from, according to organizers and students at an organic gardening class at Meachum Urban Farm.
The classes were planned independently of the recalls, organizers said, and are focused on teaching the basics of organic gardening. But instructors and students said recalls involving frozen berries, mangoes and lettuce products have added to interest in learning how to grow some food at home.
The class is led by Alexandra Serraro, co-owner of Squash Blossoms Organics. The session was the second of four classes, with a focus on soil and fertilizer.
“There is an interest and a need. People want to know how to grow their own food,” Serraro said.
Serraro said each class builds on the last, with the goal of giving people skills they can use in home gardens.
Student Caroline DeBruhl said she has been growing food at home for the past few years. She said gardening gives her a way to relax, can help save some money, and lets her better understand where some of her family’s food comes from.
“Getting up in the morning and watering your garden, being able to pick a tomato fresh off the vine. It feels like this very idyllic existence,” DeBruhl said.
DeBruhl, who is the mother of a toddler, said recent recalls have made her think more about the fruits and vegetables her family eats.
“With things like recalls on lettuce, recalls on berries, all these things, it is nice to know exactly where my vegetables are coming from because they’re coming from my backdoor,” she said.
Serraro said people have only so much control over food they buy from a grocery store. Growing food at home, he said, creates a closer connection to what ends up on the plate.
“It’s ironic. I think when the class was announced, and all these things started happening, there was an influx of; let’s learn how to grow it,” Serraro said.
Students said they do not expect a backyard garden to replace everything they buy at the grocery store. For many, it is another option, a hobby that may save some money and help them learn more about their food.