Guest Authors: Sheila Jennings with support from Yaza Sarieh
Sheila Jennings is the School Nutrition Director for Polk School District. Yaza Sarieh is the Community Collaborations for Georgia Organics.
All Photos courtesy of Polk County School District.
Through the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, the Polk School District has launched three new mini garden projects at Cherokee Elementary School, Northside Elementary School and Van Wert Elementary School to promote healthy eating and wellness. These garden projects will cultivate healthier, lifelong eating habits, by enhancing student’s learning experience and raising awareness about the benefits of locally grown foods.
To kick off the mini garden projects, each location used funds from the grant to purchase raised garden beds, soil, tools, seeds, water barrels, and compositing units. The students work together and share ideas on how to construct, plant, and grow their gardens.
All items the students harvested from the gardens are highlighted and featured on school menus.
Students from Ms. Sara Brown’s class at Cherokee Elementary School work as a team to plan and construct their mini garden
The mini gardens at these schools are so important because they promote lifelong, healthy eating habits. Students have a chance to try fruits and vegetables unique to the growing conditions of their surrounding community and discover how fresh herbs can enhance the taste of a meal. By introducing students to a variety of different produce and herbs, they may choose to incorporate them into their daily diet in the long-term.
Additionally, the mini gardens provide students with a hands-on learning environment that is fun and exciting. Putting your hands in the dirt, fostering nutrient rich soil from composting, and seeing your work grow — or even fail — is part of the learning experience. The gardening projects will continue to be part of lessons related to math, science, health, and so much more.
By increasing the purchase and promotion of locally grown foods, school cafeteria team members provide a unique opportunity for students to learn about agriculture, Georgia’s largest industry. Knowing and purchasing what is local to Georgia and Polk County is a community-oriented way to get fresher ingredients to cafeteria kitchen team members for lunch prep while supporting our economy. To complement the garden activities, the School Nutrition Department will organize taste tests to encourage students to try and enjoy new, healthier food choices.
In the future, the district will expand the projects to include small greenhouses and will introduce worms to aid in composting efforts. The Polk School Nutrition Department will also continue to expand their local procurement so that all students have access to Georgia-grown foods.
For more information about Polk School District Nutrition Services, visit www.polk.k12.ga.us/o/psd/page/school-nutrition for more details about their programming. You can also follow updates from Polk School District on their website, Facebook (Polk County Schools), and X, formerly Twitter (@PolkCoSchools),
To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.