Food
Farm to Cafeteria – Students harvested 6,900 pounds of produce from Classroom in Bloom’s garden in 2022! This is an important aspect of our program because this fresh foods from the garden is prepared in our MVSD scratch kitchen and served in our student lunches. Our Title I School provides healthy foods directly to those families who need it most.
Storage Crops – We grow and store hundreds of pounds of winter storage crops such as beets, carrots, parsnips, squash and apples in our new root cellar. We deliver bags of produce to the cafeteria during the winter months and bring tasty treats to the school lunch rooms during winter to inspire students to try new foods.
Local’s Lunch – We provide fresh ingredients for the school kitchen to prepare a bi-annual community local’s lunch, open for families to join their school children for lunch for the day.
Winter Culture and Cooking Classes – We visit elementary school classrooms for cooking lessons and healthy snacks during the winter months.
Harvest of the Month – We offer taste testings of homemade foods in the cafeterias using Classroom in Bloom ingredients throughout the year.
Community
Volunteers in the Garden - Our garden would not exist without our strong community of support! During the summer months, volunteers help keep our garden growing for when the children return back to school. During the school year, volunteers help with student work groups, garden chores, and special projects. Please inquire if you’d like to be a part of our volunteer workforce.
Partnerships with Local Farms - High school students visited local farms to learn about greenhouse designs; our Nutrition Committee works with local farms to help provide additional fresh foods to the school cafeteria.
Garden Parties and Social Events - We host a yearly fall harvest celebration to celebrate Farm to School programs. This event is fully catered and drinks provided by local sponsors and volunteers. Event admissions goes directly to our education programs.
Dirt Works Education Series - Hopefully back in the near future.
Education
Weekly Elementary Garden Classes (K-6) - Students find new inspiration in interdisciplinary outdoor classroom lessons involving art, language, science, math, engineering, and literacy during weekly visits to the garden.
Jr/High School Classes - We partner with Liberty Bell High School to have students join the garden during their core classes in Science, Humanities, Health and Wellness, Physics, Photography, Art, Culinary Arts/Foods, Languages, and Woodshop to learn about different elements of our garden. Our Teen Educator is co-teaching a Horticulture Class for high school science and Career Technical Education (CTE) credits.
Teen Internships - Teens find inspiration in garden-based projects and learning experiences utilizing their school garden.
Summer Camps for Kids - We offer 5 weeks of summer camps with weekly garden themes for children 6-11yrs. Focus on games, garden projects, art installations pollinators, and learning environment. Registration opens in March. Scholarships available!
Teachers Trainings - We’ve developed a teaching guide and host professional teacher trainings for K-6 garden curriculum.
Environment
Earth Day Celebration- we partner with multiple environmental organizations on Earth Day to celebrate and work on campus stewardship projects.
School Food Waste is collected by our school district kitchen staff and delivered to Classroom in Bloom’s Compost Facility. Here students help turn, process, and return to the garden soil.
Native Plant Garden – we continue to care for and expand our native plant gardens and native tree landscape for site beautification. Students involved in landscaping and native plant harvest to teach the importance of plants for wildlife, water conservation, and wild-harvest cultural values of native plants in our area.
Nature Programs in the Garden- Our teaching philosophy in the garden allows for imagination and encourages kids to wonder about nature. We allow for inquiry and exploration while focusing on subjects such as pollination, the water cycle and soil health to help students deepen their relationship to science and nature.
