Embedded Files
Project Overview
Live Oak School District (LOSD) is converting 1.1 acres of district-owned land into a nutrition and education farm. The farm will support the health of Live Oak School District Community by increasing access to, and consumption of, fresh, organic produce in our school cafeterias to address food insecurity and health inequities in our community.
The high needs of the students at LOSD is reflected by its Community Eligibility Provision status and 68% of the students who qualify for the free and reduced meal program. The student population is 50% Hispanic, 31% White, 19% Other, 30% English learner, and 60% Socioeconomically disadvantaged. The produce grown on the farm will directly impact the children who attend LOSD. The priority of this project is to ensure children are nourished with organically grown produce that they love to eat!
Mission Statement of the LOSD Farm
To cultivate a generation of healthy eaters by connecting students and the community to the land that grows their food, by providing experiential nutrition education, and by increasing access to, and consumption of organically grown produce.
Goals & Objectives
Increase student access and consumption of organically grown fruits and vegetables.
Provide agricultural and nutritional education to the students, families, and community of the Live Oak School District.
Serve as a community resource by offering surplus produce at an affordable rate to the Live Oak School District Community.
Create and model an urban, climate-forward district farm for districts across the country.
Program Format
Harvest to Health Model: The LOSD Nutrition and Education Farm will be located on Del Mar Elementary Campus. This provides an ideal location as LOSD’s Central Kitchen which is also located at Del Mar Elementary. This means produce can be washed and cleaned at the farm, and then be wheelbarrowed across the playground to the central kitchen.
The Central Kitchen is responsible for making scratch-cooked menu items and components of the salad bars before sending them out to each satellite cafeteria. Any produce that comes to the Central Kitchen can then be easily distributed throughout the district daily.
The Central Kitchen is also home to the main offices of the Nutrition Services Leadership team who is responsible for writing and planning the school menus. They will work closely with the Farm Manager to crop plan and create menus as one seamless process to incorporate all that is grown on the farm. Farm Education: The farm will provide a living classroom for school field trips for our students from Kindergarten through 8th grade.
LOSD's Extended Learning Afterschool Care Program will also have access to the farm for programming and activities. The farm will also host multiple summer camp opportunities in June and July.
Community Resource: Beyond supporting the students of Live Oak School District, the farm will serve as a community resource through its seasonal Community Farm Stand and FACE (Family and Community Engagement) events. The Community Farm Stand will be open during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons and will offer surplus produce at an affordable price to community members including teachers, staff, and families. This will help alleviate some of the financial burden that this community faces with the increasing costs of food and living. The farm will also serve as a resource for the community FACE events. This includes providing produce during caregiver universities, offering cooking classes, and providing a physical space where the community can gather and hold events.
Page updated
Report abuse