Farm To Table
School District receives $100,000 grant to expand program
Island Coast High School lettuce towers.
PHOTO PROVIDED
The School District of Lee County received a $100,000 grant that will help expand its school gardens.
The district currently has approximately 48 gardens of some sort at all school levels, ranging from traditional to butterfly gardens.
Some of the gardens are supported by such individuals as the cafeteria manager, or culinary and science classes. The school gardens, Curriculum & Instructional Innovation Education Resource Teacher Susie Hassett said, are very engaging while providing accessible learning for all students.
Hassett said they applied for the competitive federal grant through the USDA, farm to school programs that are ongoing throughout school districts.
The grant was awarded to only 123 projects across the country.
The grant will help the district expand the program, provide equipment, have after school training opportunities for teachers who want to participate, as well as have best practices to save teachers time and resources, Hassett said.
“It will also provide a person to come around to the schools to consult with them and help share resources from these high schools to other schools” she said.
The two most successful Agriculture Certification Programs are at Island Coast High School and East Lee County High School. Those schools will mentor beginning programs, as well as grow seedlings and build hydroponic systems for other schools.
“We have some great community partners that donate seeds and plants as well,” she said.
Island Coast High School grows food and provides it to their own cafeteria, as well as three others. According to the district, from February through March, Island Coast provided cafeterias with 845 pounds of lettuce, 115 pounds of peppers and 112 pounds of tomatoes.
In October, the district participated in Florida Crunch, which included Island Coast High providing fresh lettuce for students to taste. Three schools participated in naming the lettuce, which included such names as “Learning Lettuce” and “Lipsy Lopsy Leaf.”
At North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts the lettuce was used in salads, or a lettuce wrap, which went from 15 to 150 kids.
“It probably would have been more, but didn’t have any more,” Hassett said.
It has been a great addition, because when students are growing the food, or know other students who have grown the food, they will try the produce, she said.
“It is nice and fresh and tastes better,” Hassett said, adding that when kids try it, and hopefully like it, it “will create a habit that will last a lifetime.”
The district also partnering with the University of Florida for a family nutrition program to teach nutrition classes both in school and after school for families. It will touch upon such areas as why to use fresh produce and how to use it in recipes.
The goal is to expand from one school producing food to at least six this year.
“I think we are going to exceed that,” Hassett said.
The district has identified schools in all the zones that are capable of beginning a school garden. The schools will be taught systems to keep them manageable, while also having full support from the district’s food and nutrition services.
“They are contributing a person to help do this,” Hassett said, adding that they will provide a vehicle to transport food and plants.
The Healthy Living Collaboration was formed to improve overall health, while increasing food security for students and families in the district. The members include the district’s food and nutrition services, environmental education department, career and technical education department, curriculum and instructional health education and a variety of teachers district-wide.
The partners include Lee Health; Florida Department of Health; University of Florida – IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program; University of Florida – IFAS Extension Master Gardeners; Florida Gulf Coast University – Agribusiness & Food Forest; Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services; Florida Agriculture in the Classroom; Florida Farm Bureau; Naples Botanical Garden; Ding Darling; Hope Clubhouse; ECHO Global Farm; Cultivate Abundance; Lee County Solid Waste and Sakata Seeds. Other in-kind donations and seeds have been provided by Walmart, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply and Rural King.
“The expansion of Farm to School is more important than ever for our kids,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a prepared statement. “When schools and local producers work together, children benefit from higher-quality foods on their plates and program operators have stable sources for the products they need.”
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com