For a month, students at Charter Oak International Academy watched fresh produce grow in their own cafeteria.
On Oct. 11, the school’s fifth grade students harvested that growth, which would later that day be used in school lunches.
It’s part of a new program, funded by the Foundation for West Hartford Public Schools, that put a four-tier EvanLEE Organics indoor growing system into the cafeterias at Charter Oak, Conard High School, and the secondary education STRIVE program.
At Charter Oak, it was parent Kim Hughes who moved along the idea to apply for the grant after hearing about it through Tim Prosinski, the food service director of West Hartford’s schools.
“At Charter Oak, we talk a lot about our impact on the world around us,” Hughes said. “A lot of our conversation goes to our energy impact, where we get our food and our waste.”
And when it comes to fresh produce, it doesn’t get any fresher for a school than growing something in the same room it will later be eaten in. Hughes said the school wanted to connect students with what they’re eating, which might encourage them to try new things and eat healthy.
“We realized how important it was to connect the children to their food source,” Hughes said. “It’s not that simple to improve their diets. We wanted to help them make better choices. We’re not telling them to make better choices, but we’re giving them agency to make better choices. Their response to these vegetables will be better than putting something in front of them or going to the grocery store.”
The fifth grade students eagerly applied their hands at harvesting the growth of lettuce that had accumulated over the month of growing.
“We are connecting them to the land,” Hughes said. “They are the ones that are empowered. They’re the ones that are learning. It’s all connected.”
Kirsten Sanderson, the Charter Oak teacher who applied for the grant, said she saw a real, honest reaction from the students who were newly excited about fresh produce.
“I heard one kid say, ‘I’m going to eat this,'” Sanderson said. “First and foremost, we want that engagement. It’s an opportunity to find something that really sparks joy. We can leverage that into learning.”
Sanderson said it can be so common to hear a child say that they don’t eat certain foods, or that they won’t try something new.
“We can change their mindset about food,” Sanderson said.
Sanderson said the ownership these fifth grade students have over the fresh produce by being the ones to harvest it is important. That trend will continue, as after the next growth cycle, another grade will get the chance to harvest.
“It’s a great example of collaboration,” Sanderson said. “We have parents involved, we have the foundation, we have our superintendent. It shows a wonderful connection.”
