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Sandy Creek Central School District
Sandy Creek Scientists Test Farm to Table Success
Students prepare to serve up the Farm to Table salads prepared by the food service department using spring mix lettuce they grew in science class as part of a unit on plants.
Will students at Sandy Creek Elementary School like the taste of lettuce that was grown and raised by fifth graders at the school better than the taste of lettuce purchased by the school food service? That was the hypothesis examined by science students and put to the test in a special farm to table experiment at the school recently.
After studying a unit in science on plants, the students decided to start their own garden and grew a variety of spring mix lettuces from seed. They created an organic soil mix, determined the appropriate amount of light for optimal growth using special grow lamps and even made sure that the plants were fed using an organic fertilizer: fish waste. The students used the waste product from their fish tanks in the classroom to supplement the soil and feed the plants. Their lettuces took approximately 30 days to mature and as they neared harvest time they worked with the district’s food services department to add the organically grown lettuce to the menu at the elementary school.
They decided to test their hypothesis, on pizza day, a day when salad is typically served. Greeters at the cafeteria doors and next to the salad in the serving line encouraged students to try their salad and then take part in a survey after they tasted the lettuce. Out in the cafeteria, a table was set up with additional salad cups and students who did not take one of the salads from the serving line, or those who brought their lunch and did not go through the line, were served salads so they could participate in the taste test. The greeters and servers wore special “Farm to Table” aprons as they worked to promote their locally grown product.
In addition, scientists, in lab coats, went around the cafeteria surveying participants about the salad and the growing process. Some of the questions asked students if they saw the lettuce growing in the elementary commons area and if they decided to taste it because they knew it was grown by the fifth graders. They also asked the students if they liked the taste of the lettuce better than typical lettuce served and if they would eat more fresh vegetables if they knew they were farm to table fresh? Finally, the taste testers were asked if the project inspired them to want to grow their own fresh vegetables.
Overwhelmingly the results proved the hypothesis that the farm to table fresh lettuce tasted better according to the students participating in the survey, but a larger impact was that the students were inspired to continue the garden and even hope to expand it in the future. They also expressed a desire to grow more of their own food at home. “When you grow it yourself you know it’s healthy because you know what was used to grow it and how fresh it is because you picked it yourself,” said Sophia Brown, one of the students taking part in the experiment.
The experiment served up a much larger number of salads than typically served during lunch and before the final lunch period, all of the farm to table salads were gone including the additional ones for students and or staff who brought their lunch to school.
Overall, the project was a huge success according to Patricia King, fifth grade science teacher who developed the project with the students.
Gallery
Students prepare to serve up the Farm to Table salads prepared by the food service department using spring mix lettuce they grew in science class as part of a unit on plants.
Two thumbs up was the verdict by Gavin Huggins who thoroughly enjoyed his Farm to Table salad.
Trevor McDougal surveys Reece Van Nus about his opinions in the Farm to Table lettuce experiment that fifth grade science students held recently in the cafeteria.