Camacho Elementary School students were treated to a watermelon tasting party, celebrating the fruitful summer crop from the school’s garden as well as the launch of Camacho’s CATCH Amplified Program, provided by TMF Health Quality Institute.

Each student enjoyed a healthy snack of watermelon slices, served by a chef and registered dietician from Leander ISD’s Child Nutrition Services team and donated by Southwest Food Service Excellence (SFE). During their tasting party, the students spent time observing their own garden’s watermelon vines, as well as a new inhabitant of the garden, a large golden orb-weaver spider.

Kristen Andrews, LISD nutrition coordinator, said the goal of the event was to help students associate what they eat to what they grow, connecting them with the Farm to Table movement. In addition, watermelon has been served every Friday in LISD school cafeterias as a part of the district’s “Farm Fresh Fridays” and its “Go Local” food item of the month.