The Woodbury Bulletin from Woodbury, MN, recently wrote about Catalyst's garden work with Crosswinds Arts & Science School. Check it out below

From the garden to the cafeteria

September is Farm Month in Minnesota schools, which means school cafeterias are trying to incorporate more farm fresh vegetables into their daily menus. However one Woodbury school has taken it a step farther.

By: Amber Kispert, Woodbury Bulletin

September is Farm Month in Minnesota schools, which means school cafeterias are trying to incorporate more farm fresh vegetables into their daily menus. However one Woodbury school has taken it a step farther.

For the past 10 years Crosswinds Art and Science Middle School has been growing its own produce in its community garden and then serving the vegetables with school lunches.

“We’re helping connect students to the roots of what they eat,” said Anna Barker, who is the garden advisor at Crosswinds. “We want students to better understand their food.”

Growing the garden

Barker developed the concept for a community fruit and vegetable garden nearly 10 years ago when she first came to Crosswinds.

There was an area in front of the school that wasn’t being used for anything, but did have a sprinkler system installed.

Barker, a master gardener with the University of Minnesota Extension Services, said “let’s have a garden.”

Through several grants, including a Community Agriculture Grant, Crosswinds was able to develop its garden.

“We can use the environments of our school to help ‘grow’ students’ potential,” Barker said.

Crosswinds also worked with Catalyst, a local organization that emphasizes healthy eating in schools.

Crosswinds officials named its vegetable garden the “Peace Garden,” saying it is a great escape to reflect and find peace.

“It’s a wonderful way to connect to nature,” Barker said.

Planted in the Peace Garden are such crops as basil, mint, lettuce, carrots, beans, corn, tomatoes, beans, squash and even a few apple trees.

“There’s always something new growing,” Barker said.

In order to help with the garden, Crosswinds developed a gardening club where students would work in the garden through planting, weeding, growing and harvesting.

“We’re trying to get them to not take things for granted,” Barker said. “With the garden, they get an immediate sense of accomplishment.”

On the lunch menu

Barker said using vegetables from the garden in school lunches was always part of the vision since it would allow students to see where there food comes from starting from the very beginning.

Barker said she had to work closely with the school’s food service director, as well as with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to ensure the vegetables the students grow can be used in school lunches and won’t cause any health concerns.

Once the fruits and vegetables are harvested, the food service director goes to work planning meals that would incorporate the produce from the garden.

Over the years, Crosswinds has used the produce in such cafeteria items as pizza, salsa, smoothies, salads, bread, cookies and stir fry.

“You name it, we’ve done it,” Barker said. “If we can grow it here, we’ll use it.

“Diversity is the name of the game.”

Barker and Colleen Callahan, from Catalyst, said they have seen first-hand that students are more likely to eat vegetables if they are the ones growing them.

“I think it’s really important for students to understand where their food comes from,” Callahan said. “It gets them excited about eating vegetables because they have more of a connection to them.”

For the common good

In addition to enhancing the cafeteria, Barker said the Crosswinds garden also adds much to the classroom.

The garden is incorporated into the classroom in a variety ways, Barker said.

That includes talking about how bean seeds are used for jewelry, or talking about the science of plants or the proportions of growing.

“The garden works for everyone, and everybody knows that gardens are work,” Barker said.

Probably the biggest teaching tool of the garden, Barker said, is in social studies. There, she educates students about the cultural significance of certain foods and demonstrates how all cultures are united through food.

“No matter what their background, no matter what foods they eat, they share things in common,” she said. “Everything I plant is a metaphor for a connection to their roots.”

Barker said she hopes Crosswinds garden continues to grow and she hopes the community takes the opportunity to come and visit the garden, and maybe even pick a few vegetables.

“This is an open invitation for community involvement,” she said. “We’re a magnet school, and the garden serves as a magnet for community involvement.”

 

Check out the video we made of the garden here. 

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