Massachusetts students growing their own food for school lunches
LITTLETON - Students in Littleton are learning where their food comes from as they grow and harvest food that's then served in their own cafeteria.
"We figured what fresher way to bring farm fresh produce to our students than to grow it here ourselves?" said Leah Bothko, the food service director for Littleton Public Schools.
"Reminds me of Jurassic Park"
The hydroponic farm looks like a vertical tanning bed on wheels and it has the power of the sun to grow produce. Right now, the students are growing lettuce.
"We put the seeds right in the rock wool and it acts like the dirt for the seed," Bothko said. "And then from there, once it starts to sprout, we can go ahead and put it right in."
Water then cascades down from the back, bringing nutrients to the sprouts. After 28 days, the lettuce is fully grown.
"It reminds me of Jurassic Park, like it's just, it's all around you," said Bothko.
Lunch grown from seeds
Recently, the lettuce was harvested by high schoolers, some in a transition program for life after high school.
"Something like this they might have never even thought of, like farming, food service industry, those types of things," said Catherine Johnson, a transition specialist at Littleton High School.
"I think it's really important. They feel like that's the lettuce I watched grow from a seed, I watched it sprout," said Bothko.
The lettuce then ends up on their plates, served in salad in the cafeteria, just feet from where the farm is set up. Bothko said she got approved to buy a second unit and they will soon be growing herbs like cilantro, basil and parsley.
