While it would be next to impossible for most operators to fill their entire produce needs with on-site gardens, the growing process has proven to be an effective marketing and educational tool. Through a Chartwells and KidsGardening.org garden pilot program, 71% of program leaders saw an increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables among students, the companies announced last week.
With this benefit in mind, the two groups have partnered to offer a $25,000 pool containing 18 grant packages of varying sizes to any K-12 operators who wish to apply—those who already have a robust gardening program, and those who have yet to break ground. Applications are due by Aug. 31, and require a detailed overview of how operators plan to structure the garden and use the resulting produce. For inspiration, FSD rounded up three schools who are going off the beaten path with their gardening programs.
The Scandinavian School of Jersey City
Several vegan families and a number of children with allergies prompted the transition to a strictly vegan menu at this New Jersey preschool. “We lay the foundation for this every day—not only by the way we eat, which minimizes our carbon footprint, but also by the way the children are encouraged to participate in making the food, growing and harvesting veggies from the garden and feeding the worms in our compost bin,” says Maria Germerud-Sharp, founder and director. Children are involved in everything from peeling carrots or baking bread in the morning to soaking chickpeas in the afternoon and making nut milks for smoothies served at afternoon snack.
Los Angeles Unified School District
Some 1,000 schools and 850,000 students factor in to the day-to-day operations at Los Angeles Unified, says Conrad Ulpindo, director of nutrition education obesity prevention for the district’s health education programs, and school gardens are found at 75% to 80% of LAUSD sites.
“We definitely leverage them as a means to introduce the students—and even the community and parents—to new kinds of fruit, vegetables and herbs,” says Manish Singh, LAUSD food services regional manager. “[We show] how they can use new recipes which are more healthy, more nutritious, and make them aware of the fact that, hey, vegetables can be fun.”
Because the SoCal climate means gardening is a year-round affair, the district relies on more than current students and parents—though that group, along with staff members, is the core of the operation. “All of the parents of those kids who are grown up [and] in high school and college now ... they’re the ones sustaining it,” Singh says of volunteers in his area.
South Whidbey School District
Because produce like tomatoes, peppers and herbs come into season during the summer, this Washington district’s garden program is a year-round learning process. Students are invited to return to the school farm on summer Tuesdays to tend the garden, harvest crops and enjoy a picnic lunch of salad and garden “tacos” grown on-site. From Aug. 8-12, the farm is hosting a pizza camp; students will prepare sauces, dough and cheese before harvesting toppings from the garden and constructing their pies.
Throughout the year, South Whidbey also maintains a robust website for its school farm and gardens, sharing everything from garden progress and recipes to opportunities for community involvement.