All students in the Grant County School District qualify for the USDA school lunch program.  Over the past few years interest in locally grown produce has continued to climb.  The art of gardening has skipped a couple generations as the nation's food supply has made it easier to purchase than grow.   

Students, teachers, and family resource agents from Sherman Elementary School partnered with the agents from the Grant County Extension Service have started a project this year to improve the freshness of fruits and vegetables served in our cafeteria.

Students were taught seed starting, transplanting and greenhouse management over the past two spring gardening seasons.  Eight boys and 4 girls from the 4^th and 5^th grade students have worked extensively to manage cold temperatures and hot temperature swings to raise produce on a small plot of land provided by the Grant County School District.

Winter crops such as kale, radishes, bok choy, lettuce, and broccoli were the first ones planted.   The farm has many different crops that mature at different times, which is good for the soil and nutrients.

Students grow ingredients for the cafeteria, the food served is less processed and more natural.

Out of 25 students interviewed in the cafeteria, 24 percent said ingredients from school’s farm might cause them to switch from homemade lunches to school-bought lunches. But 60 percent said the changes would not make them more likely to buy the lunch.

At the conclusion of the 2022 school year plans an additional greenhouse structure was added for the fall and future growing seasons.  It is the intention of the program to teach gardening skills to elementary students for many more years to come.