MUSKEGON, Mich. — A Muskegon-area school district is using grant funding to give students a hands-on experience in growing their own food through a new greenhouse program.
WATCH: Grant for Orchard View Schools supports teaching students about farm-to-table food
Funding through the Healthy Meals Incentive was awarded to Orchard View Schools to support their "Hoop House" greenhouse and to push their partnership with Muskegon County's "Creating Healthy Schools" program. The initiative aims to teach students where their food comes from while providing fresh produce for school meals.
"Our goal was to be able to have kids have another learning space that they could come in and get their hands dirty, and kind of have another space to learn where their food comes from," the district's food service director, Kayleigh Macomber, said.
Come spring, students will grow lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, and tomatoes in the greenhouse. The produce will be served directly in school cafeterias, creating a true farm-to-table experience.
"A lot of the lettuce and the radishes are going to middle school and high school. We had it at the lower elementary, where our students got to enjoy a fresh salad that we grew right here in the Hoop House," Macomber said.
The grant also supports a food literacy educator who teaches students about nutrition and the importance of fresh vegetables in their diet.
Macomber says this is just the beginning of their farm-to-table initiative, with plans to expand the program as it develops.
"I just can't wait for the community to see it during the summertime, when it's all grown and has a bunch of stuff in it," Macomber said.
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