In a nutrition classroom at Greenwood Community High School, students stir-fried vegetables the teacher bought from local supermarkets.
The class teaches students how to be good cooks, but it will soon teach them how to garden too.
Nutrition teacher Derek Fischer started a hydroponic garden in his home last year, which allows plants to grow indoors. The process lets the roots of a plant sit in nutrient-enriched water. The plants soak up those nutrients, along with light from LED bulbs above them, and can grow a head of lettuce in six to eight weeks, as opposed to three months using traditional farming, Fischer said.
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Now, Fischer plans to introduce hydroponic gardening to his nutrition class. Students will be able to grow lettuce, peppers, kale and herbs such as oregano, basil and parsley, instead of cooking food bought from Kroger or Gordon Food Service Store, they will be able to make their own food from scratch and eventually eat it. Students should be able to start growing food later this month, Fischer said.
Having hydroponic gardens in nutrition class will make students feel more connected to the food they eat, senior Elias Hicks said.
“I think it’s more exciting growing your own food and cooking food rather than going to a store and buying it; you feel more proud of the food you make,” Hicks said.
Gardening will also be cheaper for the school than buying food from local markets, senior Jalen Brown said.
“It’ll be cheaper as well … it’s growing in here,” Brown said. “It’s cool for everyone to watch it grow.”
A $500 MAC Grant from McDonald’s of Central Indiana will pay for the supplies needed to build the containers for the hydroponic gardens and buy LED bulbs. The start-up cost is the most expensive aspect of the project, as the seeds for each head of lettuce, for example, cost three to five cents, Fischer said.
Fischer wants to have three table-top gardens that can fit six plants each in cubic spaces, he said.
“This pays for the materials, the lights; it pays for us to operate at least as far as I can see in the future,” Fischer said of the grant. “It’s enough to buy all the stuff we need. We have extra lights in case something goes wrong. We bought six (LED bulbs) and we only need three.”
Allan Figy, construction trades teacher at Greenwood High School, will have about 12 of his students help build the structures for the hydroponic gardens, Figy said.
“We’ll probably buy copper and either use stain or enamel paints that can withstand water,” Figy said. “I’ll probably pick about four students to help build. First, I’m doing a draft of the design, then we’ll have three sets of four students building.”
If the hydroponic gardens are successful and gain popularity in Greenwood schools, it could be the start of a larger farm-to-table program, Fischer said.
“One thing a gardener knows is once you start, it’s hard to stop,” Fischer said. “The idea is to build a larger-scale operation. That would be the dream, that we can create enough produce to feed kids who don’t have the means to buy their own food.”
