Huntley College Well Represented at L.A. County Fair
Slideshow
This slideshow contains 7 slides that will change every 15 seconds. The first button is to play and pause the slideshow, followed by buttons to go to the previous slide, next slide, or choose individual slides.
-
Slide1
Human nutrition and food science lecturer Lauren Meeks explains the "healthy plate" concept to schoolchildren on a field trip to the Los Angeles County Fair.
It might have been the Los Angeles County Fair, but the Huntley College of Agriculture had a strong presence.
For years, the Department of Animal & Veterinary Sciences has sent its animals to the fair. This year, the college had more than 250 animals, including cows, sheep, and goats. About 45 animals were expected to give birth during the month-long fair.
In addition, some of the magnificent animals from the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center were on display for fairgoers. Although the Arabian horses had appeared in the Cal Poly Pomona Day at the Fair parade in the past, it was the first time that they were on display for the entire event.
About 75 students were employed at the fair. Some worked the petting farm in the Big Red Barn, where the sheep and goats
Many of the students engaged with schoolchildren who came to the fair on field trips during the week. Some worked an exhibit that showed schoolchildren the connection between farming and food: the exhibit required the children to plant a seed, “harvest” the crop, sell the crop for play money, and then go to a mock grocery store to get food.
Lauren Meeks, a human nutrition and food science lecturer, led a new interactive exhibit for the Healthy Eats Nutrition Program.
As part of the exhibit, schoolchildren played a game that involved the “healthy plate” nutrition model, which illustrates the proportions of different food groups people should eat. Two Cal Poly Pomona students dressed as a carrot and strawberry, respectively, led the children in the song “Old McDonald,” with the lyrics revised to describe what the farmer had on his plate.
Meanwhile, Ben Lehan, a lecturer in the Department of Agribusiness & Food Industry Management/Agricultural Science, gave two presentations on research the college is doing to combat the Asian citrus psyllid.
The psyllid is an insect that carries a disease, Huanglongbing, which is deadly to citrus and has devastated the Florida citrus industry.