Celebrating Farm to School Month: A Tour of Santa Cruz Area School Food and Garden Programs
October 2024:
Celebrating Farm to School Month: A Tour of Santa Cruz Area School Food and Garden Programs
The October Santa Cruz Area School Food and Garden Tour was a vibrant celebration of National Farm to School Month! We began the tour with an inspiring visit to the Pacific Elementary School, where we observed the FoodLab School Meal Program in action. Here, 5th and 6th graders prepare scratch-cooked lunches daily for the school.
Our next stop was Del Mar Elementary School to explore the Live Oak School District central kitchen where we got to savor a super-fresh school lunch featuring local Rockfish ceviche. We learned how they've incorporated the FoodLab student chef program into their food service model and we toured their remarkable 40+ year-old school garden and future production farm site, a testament to their commitment to sustainable school meals and garden-based learning.
At Branciforte Middle School, students gave us a taste of their harvest as they proudly showed off their fresh pears and a solar oven they use for cooking right in the garden.
We wrapped up the day at DeLaveaga Elementary, admiring their newly renovated garden beds—a perfect end to an inspiring day of connecting food, gardens, and education across our local schools!
