Holdingford Summer Agriculture Program Continues to Grow (PHOTOS)

HOLDINGFORD (WJON News) – Thanks to the summer program, students at Holdingford schools can eat fresh fruits and vegetables. The high school has a garden and greenhouse where they teach their students and supply the cafeteria with fresh food.

Agriculture teacher Taylor Peck says they try to get a variety of produce every year, from cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, onions, cabbage and even cantaloupes. She says depending on how they use the produce, it can last a long time:

“They usually grind the zucchini and freeze it for different things, like zucchini muffins or bread, or they put it in sauces. So depending on how much we produce, it can last the whole school year.”

She says that they decide together with the kitchen staff what to plant each year and that in addition to all the healthy vegetables, they also grow some treats for all the children:

“Last year, I think they had about 40 pounds of watermelons. So sometimes they might eat them for breakfast if they don’t have enough for everyone’s lunches, or they have to get subsidies from one or two services to go along with what we produce.”

She says that the children really appreciate having fresh vegetables in addition to fruit for their salads and meals.

Students who help in the garden get a share of the credit, and Peck says they get their harvest in by about the end of September. The school is currently building a new greenhouse that will hopefully be ready in the spring and will allow them to increase the variety of produce grown.

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