CAUTION: UPPERS AT WORK (6th-8th)

For over 20 years The Center School has had a citrus sale to raise money. But where does the money come from? We pay the farmers, and the truck drivers, but then the money that's left over goes to the school. Much like a bake sale has to pay for the ingredients first, and then do the baking in order to raise the money, there is a lot of work that goes into the citrus sale and that is where the Uppers come in. We unload the truck, cart the fruit to the All School Room (which we keep cold as a giant walk in fridge!), sort it by Grapefruit, Orange, and Lime, then we have to inspect each piece of fruit to make sure it made the journey safely. This work takes at least half a day of all Uppers hands on deck — that's roughly 25 Uppers x 3.5 hours of work, or almost 90 hours of Uppers labor to help raise money for their school! The 6th graders worked on the math involved in the citrus sale today in class using this worksheet. If you want to try it yourself, click here for the sheet. 

Uppers also get to learn about the work that went into growing and getting the fruit here. All the work at G&S is detailed on their website, and the farm has a long history down in Texas. The driver stuck around for a few minutes to talk with the Adventure Primes about the work of being a truck driver on a long, multi-day, multi-ton haul. The work of picking fruit, driving commercial big rigs, and even sorting/distribution of food is often hidden from view in our world of grocery stores and online shopping where the things we want and need are at our fingertips. The citrus work gives the students a glimpse at the work and the workers that make our world run. 

There's also a good dose of fun in the whole experience. We put on a fun playlist of "Citrus Bops" in the background while we get to work checking each piece for mold or mushy rottenness. Thanks to everyone who ordered citrus and to all the other folks who made this possible!