Food Literacy
PPS is dedicated to providing opportunities for students to develop an understanding of where their food comes from. To achieve this goal, each school has a garden where students can explore growing process of seasonal produce items. The produce from our gardens is shared with the school cafeteria to model a local food system.
The Garden State on Your Plate program is incorporated into each of our school buildings. This program highlights seasonal produce in the cafeteria each month, motivating students to ask questions about:
- The growing process
- The cultural relevance
- The taste
- The nutritional value
This program was developed by the Princeton Schools Garden Cooperative and we continue to work collaboratively to grow. The schools host tastings throughout the year to introduce students to produce items and culturally relevant ways to use them in the kitchen. Our Food Literacy Coordinator, Shannon Barlow, works with classroom teachers to bring conversations about food systems and sustainability into the classroom.
School Gardens
Our vibrant school gardens provide hands-on learning experiences for a multitude of classes, from art to science. The lessons our school gardens provide range from teaching students how to plant, tend, and harvest fresh fruits and vegetables to studying prey and predator relationships within a garden ecosystem. Our garden educators work with students to care for each school's garden and teach students how to make a garden thrive.
