1. Where, Oh Where, Is My Food? By: Emily Croasdell

2. Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Claire. 1

3. Claire loved going to the grocery store with her mama. 2

4. She loved to walk down the aisle and see all the different choices of the same food. Her favorites were the apples, with all their different colors and shapes. 3

5. As time went by, the different foods slowly started to disappear. It became harder and harder to find the foods Claire wanted, let alone different brands. 4

6. One day, the shelves at the grocery store were all empty. 5

7. “What happened to all the food?” Claire cried. 6

8. Her mama turned and repeated the question to a passing worker. He replied saying, “outside countries have stopped giving us their food and our local growers don’t have enough to stock our shelves.” 7

9. Claire was puzzled by the worker’s answer. Why would it matter if other countries stopped giving us food? Don’t we have our own food? 8

10. She asked her mama the questions and she said, “Well, some of the foods we eat come from different places. We have gotten used to getting food from other places, and so we don’t make our own anymore. 9

11. Claire though about this. She didn’t like the idea of her food coming from different places, especially now that they weren’t coming from there anymore.. 10

12. Suddenly, she had an idea! 11

13. “Why don’t I grow my own food?” 12

14. She asked her mama if she could. Her mama said it was a great idea. A vegetable garden was just what they needed. And so, they set to work. 13

15. First, they had to get the ground ready. That meant pulling all the weeds. 14

16. Then they had to buy seeds to plant. 15

17. After they planted the seeds, Mama helped Claire water them. 16

18. “All done.” said Mama. Claire turned to her and smiled, feeling good that she knew exactly where her food was. 17

19. The End

20. Helpful Gardening Sites http://www.livestrong.com/article/241406- how-to-start-a-garden-with-kids/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/241406- how-to-start-a-garden-with-kids/ http://www.bhg.com/health- family/activities/outdoor/teach-your-kids- how-to-start-a-garden/ http://www.bhg.com/health- family/activities/outdoor/teach-your-kids- how-to-start-a-garden/ http://www.kidsgardening.org/node/2