Sarah Smith students love their veggies.
There’s something about harvesting the crops they plant that tempts kids at Sarah Smith Elementary School (SRS) in Buckhead to taste vegetables, such as radishes, kale, arugula, beets, turnips and mustard greens, they would likely refuse at home.
The project was launched during the 2014-2015 school year when the Captain Planet Learning Foundation awarded grants to the two Sarah Smith campuses— one on Old Ivy for grades kindergarten through second, the other on Wieuca Road for third through fifth grades. Students in both locations planted crops in the spring with help from Captain Planet volunteers and then rolled out the full program in the fall.
Volunteers Robin Ortale and Dana Escher chair the program, along with teachers Tim Ovbey and Debbie Dubois. “One class per grade uses the Captain Planet Curriculum that includes planting, harvesting and preparing kid-friendly recipes with their crops,” Ortale says. “In early spring, we hosted the Taste of SRS where students shared cultural dishes alongside a table brimming with items made using our crops.” Surplus vegetables are donated to local food banks.
For more information, visit sarahsmithelementary.com.
BY: Mickey Goodman
