HELENA — Torgerson's Equipment delivered a pumpkin to every first-grader in Helena Public Schools, giving them the opportunity to learn about agriculture.
“I love pumpkins,” Donna Bolware, a first-grade student, said.
What started as a donation of 7 pumpkins to first graders in Great Falls by Torgerson’s over twenty years ago has grown into 43,000 pumpkins for first graders, and for the first time, pumpkins are finding their homes with Helena first graders.
Sylvie Gallagher is one of those students and said, “I learned today about pumpkins is they can break easily, they turn orange, and some even have little freckles.”
The pumpkins are grown in Hutterite colonies outside of Great Falls. The goal is to show the kids where their food actually comes from.
“You would be surprised by how many kids don’t know where they come from,” Craig Widhalm with Torgerson’s said. “You ask that question, and they are like Albertson’s or the store, so it is all about trying to educate them on the agricultural side of where their food comes from.”
Students were quizzed on pumpkin facts and Donna’s main takeaway: “I learned pumpkins are fruit because they have seeds and fruits have seeds, so that is why pumpkin is a fruit.”
Each student also got to pick their own pumpkin. Sylvie said, “It stood out because it was orange and long and skinny.”
For many kiddos, this was a special experience for them.
“A bunch of them said this was their first pumpkin, so I know they were super excited, just to have the opportunity to even have one pumpkin,” Brooke Alexander, a first-grade teacher, said.
Beyond the ag side, the pumpkins will be used for several different education opportunities. Some painted, some carved, some cooked, and some dissected to learn the anatomy of a pumpkin
Bolware said, “Carve it, I want to carve it and eat the seeds.”
Although the first year of deliveries in Helena, Torgerson’s aims to include East Helena and Montana City next year.
