A child sits down to dinner, indulging in a main dish consisting of meat with a vegetable or fruit on the side.

Rarely during the meal does the discussion turn to where the food originated.That is where the "Farmer for a Day" program comes in at the West End Fair.Started by farmer Mark Green at the Carbon County Fair in 1999, the program educates young people on different aspects of farming such as how to milk a cow or harvest vegetables."Our goal is education," said Patty Murphy of the Growing Place Child Care Centers in Monroe County. "There are a lot of kids who don't realize when they pick up a can of corn that the corn wasn't actually grown in the can. We want to teach them where it comes from."The Growing Place is involved with "Farmer for a Day" for the first time this year."We're involved in early childhood education, and it just seemed like a natural fit for our agency, and this program to come together," Murphy said.Parents appreciated the opportunity to give children a calming activity in between trips to the rides."Many times as parents, we don't even stop and think about how the food gets to our plate," said Dan Booth of Sciota. "We take a lot for granted and even just a gentle reminder for everyone is nice. The farmers who support us work very hard."Green ran the program for 10 years at the Carbon County Fair before bringing it to the West End Fair. His goal stretched beyond education as he hoped engaging youth would spark an interest in farming to carry it into the next generation.Statistics support his concern.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average age of a farmer in Carbon and Monroe counties in 2012 was 58."I think there are just so many other things for kids to do these days that they don't want to go out in the field with mom and dad and learn what goes into producing your own food," said Elizabeth Baker, who was visiting the fair with her 10-year-old daughter and friends from Bath. "I think it's great that there is something like this at the fair to promote the farming industry."Early Sunday afternoon, the "Farmer for a Day" tent was full with all three attendants taking children through the different exhibits, which included picking fruit and vegetables."I enjoyed going through and picking the apples, carrots and corn," said Rosalie Adams, 8, of Stroudsburg. "I learned a lot."The Farmer for a Day attraction is located in the Kids Korral area of the fairgrounds.The West End Fair runs through Saturday in Gilbert.