Hartland -- As afternoon rain pelted the canvas of a green and yellow tent, a gangly three-week-old black-and-white calf standing underneath it nosed the grass.

Quiet, a Holstein from Lemax Farms in North Hartland, didn't seem to notice the pair of Belgian horses pulling a red cart filled with two dozen people into the nearby woods or the group of kids, undeterred by the drizzle, darting by and sucking on maple syrup lollipops shaped like maple leaves.

Kelly Meacham, whose family owns the 360-acre Lemax Farms, glanced down at her calf and, as she spoke of teaching school children about farm life, noted that Quiet was more than just a lovable pet.

“It's not just a cute calf,” she said. “It's part of our livelihood.”

About 450 visitors joined Meacham and other area farmers who brought out their animals, produce and pastries to the second annual Hartland Farm Fest on the grounds behind Hartland Public Library yesterday afternoon. The event honored the more than 30 farmers in town who've participated in the Hartland Farm to School program.

As part of the program, elementary school students eat local produce in their cafeteria, take field trips to area farms and correspond with farmers. The students also started a school garden where they grow onions, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, peas and other fruits and vegetables.

Earlier this month, a group of third-graders from Hartland Elementary School slopped around in six inches of mud in a downpour at Meacham's farm and planted pumpkin seeds, which they'll harvest in the fall as fourth-graders.

“We had a blast,” she said, smiling, as Jamaal Greene and the Plantains, a band of Hartford High School students, sang Free Bird under the tent next door.

“I think it's really important that the kids know where the food comes from,” said Meacham, a teacher's aide at the elementary school. “That's my biggest goal -- to have them see actually that it’s not just coming from a store.”

Other farmers who've donated their time or agricultural products to the school echoed Meacham's attitude. Teaching students the source of what they eat, the farmers said, will not only encourage them to follow healthier diets, it may also inspire them to raise their own food someday.

Richardson Family Farm co-owner Amy Richardson, who has three kids attending the elementary school, sets up stations for students when they visit her property so they can watch and sometimes participate in the sugaring process.

“It's a great way to get kids out of a classroom and onto a farm,” Richardson said. “They quickly appreciate how much work it takes.”

Peter Allison, who coordinates the program, said he hoped to raise a few thousand dollars from the farm fest to help fund the program. With the money the event made last year, he bought the school a food processor.

“There is just myriad ways to integrate this stuff throughout the schools,” said Allison, who also runs the Upper Valley Farm to School Network, a group of area schools that promotes similar activities.

Paul Sawyer, who grew up on a New Hampshire dairy farm, said he appreciates the program because it allows his 8-year-old daughter, Emma, to enjoy some of the experiences he loved as a child.

“It's so great that they get exposed to the local farms and see where the food's coming from,” said his wife, Katy. “It's such a good program.”

And Emma is almost as enthusiastic. Katy Sawyer said her daughter sometimes comes home after school and asks her parents to buy the products she saw that day in the garden or on the farm.

“It's fun,” said Emma, just after she hopped off the Luce Farm horse-drawn cart.

And her favorite part of the field trips? “Eating the maple syrup.”

Jaxon Morgan, one of the event's organizers, also unveiled an all-organic community garden on a field near the library. The garden, about one-third the size of a basketball court, has 20 plots at an annual rental cost of $20 each, with a $10 refund at the end of the season.

“If we don't grow food,” Morgan joked before the ribbon cutting, “we'll at least grow community.”

Brianne Goodspeed, who helped develop the idea, said the neighborhood concept behind the garden appealed to her as much as the chance to grow organic produce.

“Through the process of working on this garden, I now feel like a part of this town,” said Goodspeed, who moved to Hartland about two years ago. “I think it all kind of feeds into the idea of re-localization and drawing together as a community.”

The event also included a scything tutorial, a compost toss that entailed shoveling fertilizer into a bucket about 10 feet away and a visit from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who said he supported Hartland's effort to educate school children about local agriculture.

“This is exactly the direction we should be going as a state and a nation,” said Sanders, as he munched on a mash of granola and blueberries. “This is at the vanguard of where I think we need to go.”

John Woodrow Cox can be reached at 603-727-3305 or jcox@vnews.com.