What’s Right With Our Schools: Bibb County partners with local farm to provide fresh, healthy foods

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Bibb County Schools and a local farm teamed up to help provide healthy, fresh products to school cafeterias.

Awakening Farms Ministries recently developed a greenhouse to supply hydroponic lettuces, fruits and other vegetables to restaurants.

Bibb County Schools leaders were invited to take a tour and before the end of 2015, the two had made a deal.

“We were very anxious to partner with them in order to bring fresh greens, lettuce and spinach into the schools,” says Dr. Cleta Long, Bibb County’s School Nutrition Director.

Executive Director of AF Farms Jason Thomley believes this type of growing produces fresher, healthy and more nutrient dense foods.

“Hydroponic lettuce is grown in water rather than soil.  We get all the same nutrients into the water that the plants would draw from the soil,” says Thomley.

His small team of 4-7 growers keep the greenhouse climate controlled. They use less water than the typical farmer, because their basins reuse water. The total expense to operate costs between $300-$500 per month.

Bibb County uses funds from its school nutrition budget to meet their needs.

“We are having a goal of having 20% of everything we serve as being locally grown, or at least Georgia grown,” says Long.

The 2,300 hole greenhouse can grow eight crops per year. “I could probably grow 16,000 heads of lettuce in [this] 2,600 square foot space,” says Thomley.

That is enough to supply add Bibb County school with a week’s worth of lettuce for a month at a time, according to Long.

“If I can get you to taste it, I’ll win,” added Thomley.