Salt Lake elementary students grow their own vegetables for school lunch

(ABC 4 News) SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - It takes patience to take a tiny seed and wait for it to grow into a ripe tomato or carrot, and patience is not something elementary-aged students are known for. But nevertheless, students at Rowland Hall - St. Mark's School in Salt Lake City have been learning how to take care of plants and grow vegetables. They’re in science class ... in the great outdoors. As they look for ripe green beans and tomatoes, they're learning hands-on -- and hands dirty.

The kids helped plant the garden in a plot of land outside their school building, and science teacher Mary Slocum provides the guidance. She says they learn a lot of science out here. "The process of growth and change over time, they have a chance to reflect out here and make observations which are excellent science skills, they have a chance to work collectively on a project," Slocum said.

"Just putting in the seeds and playing in the dirt and watching the things grow and watering them," said fourth grader Julia Sanderson. Her classmate Barrett Zhang, who works in the garden after school while he waits for a ride, even brought his favorite seeds from home to plant here. “It's a type of Chinese vegetable,” Zhang said. “It's really squishy and once you boil it and peel off the skin, it's really good and very slimy, kind of."

In an age when it’s easy for kids to think that food just grows right in the grocery store, this project is a breath of fresh air. They're able to see how a seed becomes an actual ripened tomato, and how it makes its way to their very own lunch table. Yes, after the kids harvest the food, they take it all down to their school cafeteria, and the cooks work their magic with it. Each day, the kids eat homemade vegetable soup with their homegrown zucchini, carrots and tomatoes. Pasta sauces, side dishes and the salad bar feature their creations. And those vegetables are the really healthy kind. "Their goal is to be totally organic, no pesticides," said Food Services Director Mary Hill.

Overall, it’s not a bad lesson to learn ... or eat, for that matter.

School leaders say the garden fits right into their goal to be as sustainable as they can -- using ingredients that don't have to be shipped across the country. And when the garden is so productive they can't use all the veggies, they donate them to the Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City for its community food co-op.