It’s notoriously difficult to get kids to eat their veggies, but Classroom in Bloom has solved that problem: Let kids grow their own.
Although most of us think that school gardens are a relatively new phenomenon, their history goes back to the 1890s. After WWII, the school garden movement died out due to a lack of interest and funds — until recently.
In the past 30 years, according to HEAL (healthy eating, active living), a nonprofit focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing obesity related diseases, school garden programs have evolved as a useful support for STEM education; a means to increase outdoor activity and to counter the consequences of youth sedentariness; a tool to convey the principles of a good diet and an overall healthy lifestyle; and a way to build an environmental ethic.
School gardens are supported by state and federal agencies and nonprofits. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service and WSDA websites offer extensive information on school gardens. They provide farm-to-school toolkits, curriculum plans, and resource lists. Slow Food USA collaborates with school districts to create and test protocols that enable students to safely and consistently enjoy garden-grown produce as part of their school lunch program. Through networking, school gardens across Washington state exchange information and resources.
Classroom in Bloom was started in 2004 by Anaka Mines and Lexi Koch; its mission is to “inspire children to grow healthy food and connect with nature: sow it, grow it, eat it, know it!” Since then, it’s expanded to two acres, including a learning gazebo, extensive garden beds, a root cellar, washing station, greenhouse, a composting facility, and a greenhouse annex. All the food grown is used in the school lunch program or goes directly into the mouths of student helpers or volunteers.
I met up with Executive Director Kim Romain-Bondi, Food and Farm Manager Miles Griffin, and Youth Education Coordinator Mia Sundstrom in the greenhouse annex. That morning, Mia had conducted a cooking class for K-6 that involved grinding emmer wheat donated by Bluebird Grain Farms using an antique stone mill. After grinding the grain into flour, the kids learned to make pancakes. Mia is responsible for the cooking classes, held all winter, using what’s available from the fall harvest, and much of the curriculum for the summer camp program.
The greenhouse was being prepped for starting seeds for the school garden and for the plant sale in May. Everyone was engaged with signups for the six-week summer camp program, a well-attended and popular program for ages 6-10, that “gets children into the great outdoors to study pollinators, eat fresh food, learn from nature, and dig in the dirt.” While I was interviewing, Miles stepped into the annex with a thermometer with a three-foot probe, used to measure the temperature of the compost made from school cafeteria food wastes, garden refuse, and manure. Classroom in Bloom constructed a state-of-the-art compost facility in the fall, offering yet another learning opportunity and providing an excellent amendment to the soil.
Four hundred students come to Classroom in Bloom for an hour a week. The garden curriculum “Garden Class,” is integrated into the school curriculum and supported by the teachers. A typical session might involve an introductory talk that is pertinent to what’s happening in the garden or a science class, followed by hands-on work in the garden, and ending with a harvest snack. Occasionally, guest speakers contribute to the curriculum.
Kim, who’s in her ninth year as executive director, has contributed heavily to the current success of the program. She considers it to be vitally important in meeting the needs of students. “Their needs these days are incredibly high,” she said, whether it’s the food they learn to grow for themselves or learning to eat healthy food that doesn’t come from the grocery store. “The parents thank us for getting their kids to eat carrots, and the kids come home with a garlic bulb or seeds in their pockets and encourage their parents to start a vegetable garden.”
