From left, Stacie Castle, Zachary Craig, Derek Dunithan and Michael Turner are making applesauce in a kitchen at Wawasee High School. (Photo provided)

The basic employment skills training class taught by Diana Grossnickle, made up of Wawasee High School students, recently took a trip to the Community Apple Orchard near Winona Lake to pick apples for local food pantries and also themselves.

Students gained work experience in the agriculture field by picking 220 pounds of apples for local pantries and another 180 pounds for school. Back at the school, they continued their work experience in the kitchen by making the picked apples into apple butter and applesauce. They will use the applesauce as an ingredient in making muffins and the apple butter to serve with the muffins.

The apples were actually donated to food pantries in Warsaw. And 80 pounds of the apples were donated to the Syracuse Food Pantry.

Students looked up recipes to make other tasty treats they made the next week. Each student took a bag of apples home to share with their families, too.