Monroe County schools grow student gardens, partner with local farms for fresh meals
Director of School Nutrition Danny Durham Jr. said students are taking an active role in growing the fruits and vegetables served in their school cafeterias.
FORSYTH, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – The Monroe County School District is expanding its student nutrition program through hands-on gardening and local produce partnerships.
Director of School Nutrition Danny Durham Jr. said students are taking an active role in growing the fruits and vegetables served in their school cafeterias.
“Last year, we participated in a grant that provided funding for us to have gardens where we grow a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables,” Durham said. “We later served those in the cafeteria. The students participate in the whole process—from planting the seeds to harvesting the crops.”
Durham said giving students a say in what they grow has helped encourage healthier eating habits.
“We really want to create healthier eating habits in students early,” he said. “We find that those habits then continue throughout their lifetime. And we really feel like giving the best student options has been the best way to do that.”
Monroe County Schools recently partnered with Dickey Farms to provide students with fresh strawberries.
“It’s beneficial for both our program, and it’s a real win for our students to have fresh strawberries literally picked the day before and brought into the cafeteria,” Durham said. “It mirrors again, it’s not just one single fruit but several fruits on our serving line in Monroe County Schools.”
He said the experience teaches students a valuable lesson about food and where it comes from.
“It’s something, as a society, that we have moved away from,” Durham said. “So bringing it back—and knowing that everything comes from the ground, you water it and reap what you sow—is really a fundamental core of what we’re doing here.”
With strawberry season winding down, Monroe County students and staff are now preparing their gardens for blueberries.
