Every item in a grocery store has a story to tell. Wednesday, William Bowman, of Bowman Farms, welcomed kindergarten students from Sophia P. Kingston Elementary School to discuss where some of the fruits purchased from the store are grown.

The visit, he said, was the first time he has had school children out to pick fruit.

“I thought it would be a great educational program to allow them to come out here and experience the farm life, the fresh air and all of that,” he said. “It gives us a chance to tell them how we raise the plums, the hay, and all of the other things we do out here. It’s a good, fun day outside.”

When the season ended, Bowman said there was between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds of muscadines remaining.

The farm has always had a you-pick program when they sell all of the muscadines desired by stores and markets. Because of a meeting with Kingston teachers in the spring, Bowman said they were able to  arrange the visit.

“I did a bullying program last May for the third through fifth grade, and while I was there I met a couple of teachers who were very nice and welcoming to me,” he said. “They asked me about my farm and asked if we would sponsor a field trip. This year, I decided to call and see if they would like to visit, we discussed it, and decided it would be timely and free.”

Students learned how fruits like plums and muscadines are planted, irrigated and harvested. Best of all, they were able to fill a zip lock bag with the fruit they picked for an afternoon snack.

The visit, Kingston teacher Laneice Frazier said, was great because it allowed the students to see a different lifestyle than many see every day.

“Most of these kids don’t get a chance to go out on a field trip like this,” she said.

“Even though we live here in Selma, they don’t get to experience anything like this.”