B. Life Systems · Growth and Changes in Plants

Food Plants and Locally Grown Food

B2.7 B1.3 A3.1 A2.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can name food plants, including plants grown and gathered by First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
I can tell which part of a plant I am eating.
I can name local places where food plants are grown or found.
I can describe benefits and limitations of locally grown food.

Words to know

locally grown
Grown close to where you live, for example in your town or in Ontario.

Three Sisters
Corn, beans and squash planted together, a way of farming taught by the Haudenosaunee and other First Nations.

wild rice
A grass that grows in shallow lakes and rivers. Its seeds are a food. The Anishinaabe call it manoomin.

growing season
The part of the year when it is warm enough for plants to grow outside.

greenhouse
A building with clear walls and roof where plants can grow when it is too cold outside.

benefit
A good thing that comes from something.

limitation
A problem or a thing that holds something back.

What's for dinner?

Tonight Jonah's family is eating corn on the cob, green beans and baked squash. Jonah's grandmother smiles: "Those are the Three Sisters!"

Hundreds of years before there were grocery stores, First Nations in what is now Ontario were growing these same three plants together. Let's learn about food plants, where they grow, and why it matters where our food comes from.

A garden where tall corn plants grow with bean vines climbing them and wide-leafed squash plants with yellow flowers and squash on the ground. — This is a Three Sisters garden. The corn holds up the beans, the beans feed the soil, and the squash leaves shade the ground and keep it moist. AI-generated image

Which part are you eating?

We eat many different parts of plants:

Plant part	Foods
roots	carrots, beets, radishes, sweet potatoes
stems	asparagus; potatoes are special underground stems
leaves	lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage
flowers	broccoli, cauliflower (we eat the flower buds)
fruits	apples, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers
seeds	beans, peas, corn kernels, sunflower seeds, rice, wheat (flour)
sap	maple syrup (boiled-down sap of maple trees)

Plant parts we eat.

We eat every part of a plant: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds.

Food plants of First Nations, Métis and Inuit

The Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash). The Haudenosaunee and other First Nations plant these together in small hills of soil. The sisters help each other:

Corn grows tall and straight. Bean vines climb up the corn stalks.
Beans add nutrients to the soil that help the corn and squash grow.
Squash has big, prickly leaves that spread over the ground. They shade the soil to keep it damp and keep weeds from growing.

Wild rice (manoomin). Wild rice grows in shallow lakes and slow rivers. In late summer, Anishinaabe harvesters glide through the rice beds in canoes and gently knock the ripe seeds into the canoe with wooden sticks. Some seeds fall into the water to grow next year.

Berries. Wild strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and saskatoon berries are gathered in forests, clearings and fields. Métis families gathered berries such as saskatoon berries, and in the Arctic, Inuit pick blueberries, crowberries and cloudberries on the tundra in late summer.

Maple sap. In early spring, the sap of maple trees is collected and boiled down to make syrup and sugar, as First Nations did long before Europeans arrived.

The Three Sisters growing together in one hill: corn holds up the beans, beans feed the soil, and squash shades the ground.

Where are food plants grown or found near you?

Home and school gardens and balcony pots: tomatoes, beans, lettuce, herbs.
Community gardens: shared gardens where neighbours each grow food.
Farms: corn, wheat, soybeans, potatoes and vegetables.
Orchards: rows of fruit trees, like apples, pears and peaches.
Greenhouses: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuce, even in winter.
Sugar bushes: maple forests where sap is collected in spring.
Forests, fields and lakes: wild berries, wild leeks and wild rice. (Only pick wild foods with an adult who knows the plants and has permission.)

Season	Ontario food plants ready to pick
early spring	maple sap (for syrup)
late spring	asparagus, rhubarb
early summer	strawberries
mid summer	blueberries, raspberries, sweet corn, beans
fall	apples, pumpkins, squash, potatoes, carrots
winter	greenhouse vegetables; stored apples and root vegetables

When some Ontario food plants are ready.

Local food: good things and problems

Food that is locally grown comes from near where you live. A lot of our food is grown far away and comes by truck, train, ship or plane.

Benefits (good things) of local food:

It is often fresher and tastier, because it was picked recently.
It travels a shorter distance, so trucks burn less fuel and make less pollution.
It supports local farmers and helps our community.
You can learn where and how it was grown, and even visit the farm.

Limitations (problems) of local food in Ontario:

Our growing season is short. Nothing grows in the fields under snow in winter.
Some foods cannot grow here at all, like bananas, oranges, coffee and cocoa (for chocolate). They need a hot climate.
Greenhouses let us grow food in winter, but heating and lighting them uses a lot of energy.
Local food can sometimes cost more, and there is less choice in winter.
A frost or drought can ruin a local crop.

Technology on the farm

Many Ontario greenhouses use computers and sensors. Sensors measure the temperature, light and water. A computer program then turns heaters, fans, lights and watering on and off by itself. Coding helps farmers grow food all year and use less water, but the machines cost money and use electricity.

Worked example

Let's weigh the choice

In January, Sofia's family is choosing strawberries. One box was grown far away in a warm place and came by truck. Strawberries are not growing in Ontario fields in January. What are the benefits and limitations?

Can she buy local field strawberries? No. In January, Ontario fields are frozen. (Some greenhouses grow strawberries, but they use energy.)
Benefit of the far-away berries: the family can eat fresh strawberries in winter.
Limitation: they travelled a long way, using fuel and making pollution, and were picked days ago.
Another choice: eat Ontario strawberries that were frozen or made into jam last summer, or pick a local winter fruit like stored Ontario apples.

There is no perfect answer! Thinking about benefits and limitations helps families make choices. Eating local food when it is in season and storing some for winter are two ways to enjoy local food all year.

Just for fun

Broccoli is really a bunch of tiny flower buds. So a plate of broccoli is a bouquet you can eat!

Hands-on activity

Local food detective

You need: paper, a pencil, and a trip to a grocery store or farmers' market with a grown-up (or grocery flyers at home).

Find 5 fruits or vegetables. For each one, look at the sign or label: Where was it grown? (Look for "Product of Ontario" or "Product of Canada".)
Write each food, where it came from, and which plant part it is.
Sort your list: local (Ontario) or far away.
Pick one far-away food. Could it grow in Ontario? Why or why not?
Bonus: plant a few bean or lettuce seeds in a pot or garden to grow your own local food. Lettuce can be ready in about a month.

Think about it: Write one benefit and one limitation of eating food grown in Ontario.

Your turn

What are the Three Sisters?

How do the beans help the corn and squash?

Where does wild rice grow?

Which plant part are you eating when you eat broccoli?

Name two places in your community where food plants are grown.

Give one benefit of eating locally grown food.

Give one limitation of locally grown food in Ontario.

More practice: warm-up

Which plant part is a carrot?

Which plant part is lettuce?

In which season is maple sap collected?

Where do apples grow on a farm?

Can bananas grow in Ontario fields? Why?

More practice: on your own

How does squash help the other two sisters?

Why do wild rice harvesters let some seeds fall into the water?

Strawberries from a farm 20 km away and strawberries from 3000 km away cost the same. Give two reasons to choose the local ones.

How can people eat Ontario food in winter? Give two ways.

A potato grows underground. Is it a root? Explain.

Challenge

A greenhouse lets a farmer grow tomatoes in winter. Give one benefit and one limitation.

Explain why corn, beans and squash grow well together. Use the word "depend" or "help".

A greenhouse computer turns on the watering when a sensor says the soil is dry. How does this coding help? Give one possible problem.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What are the Three Sisters?

Where does wild rice (manoomin) grow?

When you eat a carrot, you are eating a...

Which is a benefit of locally grown food?

Which is a limitation of locally grown food in Ontario?

Where would you find apple trees growing in rows?

How do bean plants help corn and squash in the Three Sisters?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: B2.7 asks children to describe food plants, including those grown or gathered by First Nations, Métis and Inuit, and to identify local settings where they grow. B1.3 asks them to assess the benefits and limitations of locally grown food; there is no single right answer, so reward balanced reasons. The greenhouse sensor example touches on how coding and new technologies affect everyday life (A2.2), and the market visit connects science to real choices at home (A3.1).

Accuracy notes: Beans add nitrogen to the soil through bacteria on their roots; "nutrients" is the Grade 3 word. Potatoes are stem tubers, not roots. Wild rice is a different plant from the rice grown in Asia.

Teaching respectfully: The Three Sisters and manoomin are living traditions; many communities still grow and harvest them today. If you buy wild rice, look for hand-harvested wild rice from Indigenous harvesters.

Safety: Wild foods must only be picked with an adult who is certain of the plant (some berries are poisonous) and with permission on that land.

How to help: Look at "Product of" signs together when you shop, visit a farmers' market or pick-your-own farm in season, and try growing one easy food plant (beans, lettuce or herbs) on a windowsill or balcony.