School gardens come in all shapes and sizes, and districts, with varying amounts of land, are finding ways to establish gardens both within and outside school grounds. Gardens can be as simple as a few containers on a windowsill or can cover many acres. School districts find that even small gardens help children gain familiarity and comfort with the fruits and vegetables they see more of at mealtimes. The 3 C’s program brings together cafeterias, classrooms and the community to improve meals.

In many areas in Connecticut, food service directors use school garden products in the cafeteria every day, from herbs to spice up a pizza, to serving garden-grown lettuce at the salad bar, to roasting vegetables. In Danbury schools, the gardens are also living classrooms that create teaching opportunities ripe for nutrition and agriculture education and experiential education across all disciplines.

Three elementary school gardens are growing to add more fresh produce, herbs, and spices to school lunches and monthly taste testing, while afterschool garden clubs extend the school day through planning more garden beds, choosing seeds, growing plants, and making afterschool snacks from the garden. At the Morris Street school, students have made and tested their own basil pesto and salsa. Last spring, the students at Park Ave school grew lettuce and other salad ingredients and made a large salad for taste testing by the entire school. Families recently came together at Ellsworth Avenue school to learn about growing their own vegetables in the new gardens at their school. Families participate in filling the raised beds and planting vegetables and herbs for their own school garden.

Teachers at many of Danbury’s schools are engaging students in their classrooms through curricula that use Next Generation Science Standards. Learning about soil and water conservation, water quality, growing seeds and plants and their life cycles, hydroponics (growing in water) or traditional growing in dirt, farming, and using fish as fertilizers in aquaponic gardens, students can experience and learn about the basics of becoming self-sufficient through growing their own food.

The cafeterias in our schools are also becoming living classrooms, in which staff will be able to educate students about the foods being served. For many of the students, new vegetables or protein sources in school meals include kale and arugula in salads, homemade hummus, roasted carrots, and increased amounts of locally grown vegetables from our farmers working with our schools. You can also look forward to Harvest of the Month and new recipes in the coming months.

Lastly, while our farmers may be limited as to how much they can provide for us, our school gardens will be able to grow the rest. As the gardening season ramps up, we need families to help us. No experience necessary! The gardening project led by teachers, a farm-to-school director and coordinator, is a place at which families can learn through interactions with the gardens, including planting, weeding, watering, weighing, and washing produce. Each garden has an area where younger children can play and learn as well. For more info on our school gardens and how to get involved, reach out to me at meadan@danbury.k12.ct.us We look forward to seeing you soon.

Anne E. Mead, Ed. D. is the director of Family, School, and Community Partnerships for Danbury Public Schools. She can be reached at 203-830-6508 or by email at meadan@danburyu.k12.ct.us.