School lunches at MCHS will now have a local flavor thanks to the use of equipment the school district received as part of a Farm-to-School project.
MCHS agriculture teacher Trevor Sweet and his students recently harvested the first batch of lettuce from the district’s new Flex Farm hydroponics systems, which the MCPS School Nutrition department received through a grant from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The lettuce is then used in the high school’s cafeteria as a part of the school’s lunch.
While the system is still very new to the school district, Sweet noted that it’s clear that it’s a very efficient system and he estimates his students will be able to harvest lettuce approximately every six weeks.
The competitive grant awarded six school districts with the intent of introducing more locally grown food products in their cafeterias.
MCPS School Nutrition Director Jennifer Wheeler sees the student-use of the systems as a way to not only grow food, but also school pride.
“I am super excited for this opportunity for the School Nutrition Department and the Ag Department to collaborate in order to give our students hands-on learning experiences focused on next generation alternative agriculture production and at the same time be able to add, not only locally grown, but Marion County High grown greens to our existing selection of locally sourced foods,” she said. “Not only is this an amazing educational opportunity for our students but it will also help to give them a greater connection to the foods they eat in our cafeteria and promote a sense of ‘Knight Pride.’”