More than 130 people attended the Boulder JCC Preschool Sukkot dinner to celebrate a successful first harvest from the Community Garden and the holiday that inspired it all. The JCC playground and garden were lit with twinkle lights while the tables were beautifully decorated with vases of herbs, leaves, children’s drawings and glowing candles.As the newest programming space at the Boulder JCC Preschool, the garden provides incredible learning opportunities for the children and connecting children to their food sources. The Sukkot harvest was no exception.Throughout the October, teachers and children harvested the vegetables and herbs from the garden, which they planted last spring. The preschoolers cooked and baked this organic produce into different dishes that were shared at the dinner. There was home-made zucchini bread, butternut squash soup, pasta with pesto sauce, green tomato cake (that’s right, a cake made with green tomatoes!), and pasta primavera.

The event began in the garden with a shared blessing, led by a parent and a teacher, which honored Sukkot and gave families an opportunity to be thankful for the harvest and come together as Preschool community.

After the blessing, families enjoyed a beautiful pot-luck dinner, as well as the food that the children had prepared at school. Yum!

The Boulder JCC Community Garden was made possible by a grant and donations from 18 Pomegranates and Josh and Kate Dinar.