Agricultural Students Cooking, Serving Thanksgiving Dinner For Seniors
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Students at a Southwest Side high school have been putting their lessons into practice, as they work to provide Thanksgiving meals to 300 senior citizens on Tuesday.
WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports students at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences raised turkeys, and grew fruits and vegetables which will be used to make the Thanksgiving dinners.
Students Make Thanksgiving Meal For Senior Citizens
They got up before 4 a.m. to begin preparing the food.
"I was very excited to know that our turkeys that we have raised, we're going to cook and serve to some senior citizens that might not have a Thanksgiving this year," student Mike Edwards said.
Classmate Gino McKenna helped raise the eight turkeys being roasted for the meal. They weigh an average of 42 pounds.
"I was here the first day we got them, and they were like not even the size of your hand. … Now I look at them, and it takes both my hands to pick it up," he said. "I feel like a true farmer."
A ninth turkey was given a pardon, and was named Lucky for now. McKenna said he might not be so lucky come Christmas, or next Thanksgiving.
Students also made pumpkin pie, cornbread, corn pudding – mostly from vegetables planted, grown, and harvested on the school's farm.
"It's a really wonderful opportunity for our kids, because we're bringing farm to table," said teacher Amy Hughes.
Principal William Hook called it learning by doing.
