LOCAL PUMPKINS
You can include pumpkin in a side dish, in a bakery item like Pumpkin Squares, in a breakfast item like Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread, as a spread like a Granny Smith and Pumpkin Butter on rolls or bread, or as a taste test item. Add pumpkin to your recipes for soup. Pumpkin can also be used as a taste test item in the spookiest month- October!
Agriculture Facts:
- Did you know that Illinois produced 317.9 million pounds of pumpkins in 2015? More than the next three highest states combined! The top pumpkin production states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. The top ten pumpkin-producing counties in Illinois are Tazewell, Kankakee, Mason, Logan, Will, Marshall, Kane, Pike, Carroll and Woodford.
- According to the University of Illinois, 95% of the pumpkins grown in the U.S. are harvested in Illinois soil. Morton, IL is responsible for 80% of the world’s canned pumpkin production. Morton is a village in Tazewell County known for its pumpkins and annual Pumpkin Festival.
- Out of the total 1.5 billion pounds, over 800 million pumpkins are ripe for the picking in a single month of the year.
- An average pumpkin weighs 10-20 pounds, though the Atlantic Giant variety can weigh 400-600 pounds, enough for perhaps 300 pies!
- The world’s largest pumpkin was more than five feet in diameter and weighed over 1,800 pounds. It was presented in Minnesota in October 2010.
- Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds and pumpkins take between 90 and 120 days to grow. The flowers that grow on pumpkin vines are also edible.
Nutrition and Food Facts:
- Pumpkins are 90% water. And that makes them low calories. One cup of canned pumpkin only has 83 calories and only half a gram of fat.
- Pumpkins also have more fiber than kale, more potassium than bananas and are full of heart-healthy magnesium and iron.
- Pumpkin is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Phosphorus, Vi
- High in iron, pumpkin seeds can be roasted to eat.
History and Lore:
- A French explorer in 1584 first called them “gros melons,” which translates into Latin as “pepon,” which means large melon. It wasn’t until the 17th century that they were first referred to as pumpkins.
- In England, they used large beets and lit them with embers to ward off evil spirits. Irish immigrants brought their customs to America but found that pumpkins were much easier to carve.
- Delaware hosts an annual “Punkin Chunkin” championship. Teams compete in a pumpkin launching competition, where pumpkins are shot almost 5,000 feet from an air cannon.
- A jack-o’-lantern (or jack o’lantern) is a carved pumpkin, turnip, or other root vegetable lantern associated with Halloween. Its name comes from the phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o’-the-wisp or jack-o’-lantern.
- A 2,145-pound pumpkin from Streator, Illinois holds the current North American record. Grown by Gene McMullen in 2015, the great pumpkin weighed in a few hundred pounds lighter than the current world record holder of 2014, a pumpkin weighing in at 2,323-pounds in Switzerland.
- To make a pie, Pilgrims first hollowed out a pumpkin, filled it with apples, sugar, spices, and milk, then put the stem back on and baked.
- One of the first published recipes for pumpkin pie (Pompkin Pudding) was in Amelia Simmons’ 1796 cookbook, American Cookery. This the first cookbook to be written by an American and published in the United States.
spread the word and build partnerships
Don’t be a solo act. Invite your community to the table!
Promote in-house:
- Announcements
- Newsletters
- Website
- Social media
- Events (health fairs, open houses, garden working events, back to school, holiday activities, parents night, sporting events)
- Meetings (PTO, wellness committee, board of directors, staff professional learning days)
- Food tastings during events
Promote in your community:
- Report on activities and share pictures with news sources
- Share with community partners for their websites, social media and newsletters
- Post fliers at public places (libraries, health centers, non-profit hospitals, garden groups, local farm hubs, farmers markets, health agencies)
- Ask students to create and publicize local food stories – include photos or create videos
Invite others onsite to get involved:
- Build impact by engaging culinary arts, Future Farmers of America, wellness, botany, ecocentric and garden programs
- Create relationships and engage non-profit hospitals, garden groups, local farm hubs, farmers markets, health agencies and advocates
- Find support in local culinary leaders and businesses
Curricular Connections and Activities
Early childcare/preschool:
- Pumpkins and Winter Squash from California Farm to Preschool. Click here for the PDF of the activity. This lesson plan also works for hard squash!
- Pumpkin Exploration from Growing Minds. Click here to view the PDF of the activity.
K-12:
- Pumpkins… Not Just for Halloween from Ag in the Classroom. Click here to view the lesson for grades K-2, and here to view the lesson for grades 3-5.
- The Case of the Missing Pumpkin from Ag in the Classroom for grades K-2. Click here to view the lesson.
Menu Logos – right click to save these images
educational graphics including an Illinois Pumpkin Counties Map
Recipes
We have many recipes for you to look through in our Recipe Index! Here you can see take-home recipes for use in the community as well as more choices for your cafeteria. You will find hot and cold recipes for most foods. Be sure to use the provided icons on your menu!
Featured Food Service Recipe: Pumpkin Squares
Featured CACFP Recipe #1: Pumpkin Bread
Featured Home Recipe or CACFP: Pumpkin Apple Butter
Featured Home Recipe: 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Pasta