Farm to School is so much more than just a classroom garden! Students gain agriculture and nutrition education, life skills, exercise, classroom taste tests promote healthy eating habits, and so much more. Latta Schools' Farm to School Program, recently had a revamp of their school gardens. All of the Latta Elementary gardens, 33 classroom gardens, were replaced with a metal raised Vego garden bed. These beds are made with food-safe high-quality metal, designed to last 20+ years, and safe for kids.
The middle school also added a raised garden bed to the school grounds from a grant offered by Clemson University. This grant also allowed some middle school staff to be trained in the "School Gardening for SC Educators" course curriculum.
Last year before leaving for summer break, our students planted purple sweet potatoes in these beds to harvest in August when we returned to school. Tuesday, August 19th, some of our kids dug deep in the soil and found some purple sweet potatoes. Mrs. Huggins, Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Lane's classes enjoyed a taste test on Thursday, August 21st in the classroom. Our school cafeteria Child Nutrition Field Manager, Crystal Lane, is trained in food safety and helped classroom teachers with the harvest, produce cleaning, and taste tests for the students in the classroom. Pam Lane, Director of Child Nutrition, stated “This allows the students to have a 'full circle' approach to Farm to School, from getting their hands dirty to reaping the fresh, flavorful recipes in the classroom.” We are excited for our students to get these unique opportunities at Latta Schools.
