Live Oak School District (LOSD) in Santa Cruz County is utilizing $200,000 in CDFA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program funding to support hands-on culinary and garden education utilizing sustainably grown, locally sourced farm produce. This includes a Food Lab class increasing scratch-cooked meals in the cafeteria and working collaboratively with Life Lab Garden classrooms and the district farm.
For example, Cypress High School Food Lab students collaborated with fulltime school farmer Geoff Palla and district-based Brigaid Chef Scott Felgner to offer zucchini muffins, pasta with kale pesto, and scratch-made marinara and salsa including school farm-grown tomatoes. At the annual farm dinner in May, students made a plant-based lemon strawberry tartlet with strawberries from the district’s “Field of Dreams” farm, an unused softball field turned into an interactive outdoor classroom.
During the past school year, LOSD grew 17 varieties of vegetables and herbs that produced 4,800 pounds of produce. Food that’s grown by the district but not used is donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. Student meals include produce purchased at Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market and local farms.
“Students gave feedback that one of their favorite parts was the taste tests,” LOSD Child Nutrition Director Kelsey Perusse said. “Through this grant we are now offering taste tests during lunch, in school gardens and on farm fields.”
“Taste tests can make a significant difference in students’ willingness to try new foods,” LOSD Child Nutrition Operations Manager Yumery Salazar Rivas added. “We have had instances where students come through the lunch line and share that they are choosing a particular entrée because they tried it for the first time during a taste test and discovered they liked it! Some students may initially be hesitant to try something unfamiliar, but seeing their peers participate often encourages them to step outside their comfort zones and give new foods a chance.”
LOSD recently planted an apple orchard and more than 1,500 students visited the school farm during the past year. LOSD’s mental health clinician and speech therapist also bring students to the school farm to enjoy a calm environment.
The development and implementation of new School Garden Lessons Aligned with Next Generation Science Standards is affectionately called the district’s “CDFA Curriculum.” District officials appreciate that what teachers and students learn on the farm continues in the classroom.
“We received incredible teacher feedback from our CDFA lessons,” Child Nutrition Director Perusse said. “One of the favorite comments was that after the garden lesson, the teacher went back into the classroom to continue it.”
October is National Farm to School Month! Join us and thousands of schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities and organizations across the country as we celebrate food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients.