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Courier City: All for the loaf of bread

The staff of life grows on trees, right? This summer, kids learn otherwise at a Hyde Park bakery.

By OLIVIA GIFFORD
Published July 2, 2004

Adults might be caught up in the low-carb craze, but kids still love their bread - especially with peanut butter and jelly.

So Keri Eisenbeis, owner of Great Harvest Bread Co., had a brainstorm. Hold a free, weekly summer camp to teach kids the importance of bread.

She was too busy to teach it herself but solicited help through the store's monthly newsletter. "Help Kneaded ... are willing to trade for bread and sweets."

John Hooper answered the call.

Hooper, 49, a teacher at the Montessori Children's House of Hyde Park, has been a big fan of the national bread chain for years. So when Eisenbeis and her husband, Michael Matthews, opened a location on S Howard Avenue last August, Hooper became a regular. After seeing the notice, he volunteered to help.

Hooper designed an eight-week program to educate kids about the history and making of bread, nutrition and health using hands-on activities. The pay: free bread.

During a recent hourlong class, Hooper began with a sing-along of The Garden Song. Then, he told the 25 students how farmers used to cut wheat and have cattle walk over the stalks to separate the wheat berries, or seeds. Six young volunteers demonstrated.

For the second lesson, students filled a cup with potting soil and wheat berries to take home. The seeds will germinate in about a week, Hooper said.

Students finished the class by making their own loaf of honey wheat bread.

"We need three snakes," Eisenbeis said. "Roll it on the table until it looks like a snake." Leave it for the bakery to bake, or take it home and have mom or dad throw it in the oven."

Despina Sibley, mother of two who lives in Hyde Park, stops in the store a couple of times a week. When she learned of the camp, she enrolled her 5-year-old daughter, Chace.

Chace's class from Trinity School spent two months last year studying bread. On a field trip, they spent a morning at Great Harvest Bread Co. watching the breadmaking process.

"Keri and Michael go out of their way," Sibley said. "They expose them to something they normally would not be exposed to."

- Olivia Gifford can be reached at 226-3339 or gifford@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 1, 2004, 12:03:34]