Fresh produce means fruits and vegetables just picked from the farm. They bruise and spoil easily, so we must handle them with care.
Handling produce (in the field and at the market)
- 🤲 Pick and carry gently. Do not drop or throw.
- 📦 Put heavy things (pumpkin, dasheen) at the bottom and soft things (tomatoes, pawpaw, figs) on top.
- 🌳 Keep produce cool and in the shade.
- 🧺 Use clean baskets and crates.
Preparing produce (in the kitchen)
- 🧼 Wash your hands first.
- 💧 Wash fruits and vegetables under clean running water.
- 🔪 Peel and cut on a clean board (a grown-up uses the knife).
- ❄️ Cover cut fruit and keep it in the fridge.
Being a responsible helper
- Follow instructions from the farmer or grown-up.
- Do your share of the work and help others.
- Clean up and put things away.
- Tell a grown-up if something is spoiled or broken.
TRY ITMarket helper
Choose a game.
Let’s practise
Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.
1. What is fresh produce?
Show answer
Fruits and vegetables just picked from the farm.
2. Give two careful ways to handle produce.
Show answer
For example do not drop it, put soft things on top, keep it cool and shaded, use clean crates.
3. Give two ways to prepare produce safely.
Show answer
For example wash hands, wash produce in running water, use a clean board, cover cut fruit and refrigerate.
4. Why do soft fruits go on top?
Show answer
So heavy things do not squash and bruise them.
5. Name two responsible behaviours when helping.
Show answer
For example follow instructions, do your share, clean up, tell a grown-up about problems.
Quick check
1. Why keep produce in the shade?
Show answer
Heat makes it spoil faster.
2. Should you wash fruit before eating?
Show answer
Yes, in clean running water.
3. What should you do if you see rotten fruit in a crate?
Show answer
Take it out or tell a grown-up, so it does not spoil the rest.
Words to know
Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?
fresh produce · handle · bruise · spoil · prepare · wash · responsible · crate
Try it at home
- Help unpack the shopping: which things go on top? Which go in the fridge?
- Wash the fruit for the family this week.
- Visit a market and watch how vendors keep produce fresh.
For parents and teachers
After this lesson, your child should be able to:
- act out ways to handle fresh produce carefully
- describe two handling and two preparation practices
- point out two responsible behaviours when working with others
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Next: From the Farm to My Plate
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San Fernando, Trinidad & Tobago.jpg – Kalamazadkhan – CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.