Savannah's Forsyth Farmers' Market pilots Harvest to Table program at Johnson High School

Torrential downpour overnight and into Thursday morning probably wasn't the desired weather for most students heading to school on April 11. For students in Sol C. Johnson High School's Harvest to Table program, however, Thursday's rain was a welcome sight as it nourishes the school's garden.

Deidre Grim, executive director of Forsyth Farmers' Market, said the Harvest to Table partnership with the Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) aims to educate the next generation about food systems. Students within Johnson High School's family and consumer science track, under the guidance of lead teacher Tracy Richardson, plant seeds in the garden and then harvest the produce. They also learn meal preparation, which provides the students with life as well as technical skills.

Partnering to spread food knowledge

Grim noted that some of the students in the program are going off to college soon. "We want them to be able to sustain themselves because...there are exorbitant rates on food right now," she said. She also said the program seeks to build up the next generation of farmers. She cited her own lineage as a fourth-generation farmer of Gullah Geechee descent as a factor for starting the program in collaboration with Richardson.

The two women talked initially about partnering because Richardson teaches Grim's son. Richardson had started a small garden with her students pre-COVID. "But it was trial and error for me because I've never grown anything outside of helping my grandmother grow tomatoes in a pot on her front porch," she said. In talking with Grim about trying to get the garden going again post-COVID, the two women saw an opportunity since the farmers' market had been wanting to develop a youth program. For her part, Richardson wants the students to grow their own food at Johnson to take home and enhance their families' nutrition.

Some of the crops students grow are collard greens, lettuce, beets and kale. Architectural designer and gardener Denzel Hill was on hand as well. He is a community partner that shows students how to use hydroponic and aquaponic gardens, which can be ideal for urban gardening. He also shares his vast knowledge of plant species and gardening practices.

Both Grim and Richardson do not want to get ahead of themselves but they envision an evolving evolving curriculum. The program already requires students to develop specific meal options. "Today, we're doing prenatal nutrition, so the kids had to use food items to have a baby shower and create healthy, nutritious meals," said Richardson. Grim hopes to incorporate the farmers' market's A Taste of Africa cooking classes.

Students thriving and trying new foods

Johnson High School sophomore Avin Mobley likes how the Harvest to Table program teaches life skills and introduces him to vegetables he's never tried before. "The information is very useful. We're learning new stuff and tasting new food, " said Mobley, who now has an affinity for cucumbers.

Fellow student and junior Mark Smith likes the bok choy, mainly because he helped grow it. "Not all the time are you guaranteed to get something from a seed but the joy of seeing the sapling come out is amazing." He was initially drawn to the family and consumer science track for the cooking classes to strengthen his understanding of nutrition and how to fit it into his life.

Richardson said the students were a little apprehensive at growing and trying new foods at first. Now, however, they get excited for Thursdays, which is when they spend time outside in the garden or greenhouse. She said that Smith is always reminding her that they have to go and water their plants and to not let anyone else do it.

Richardson is proud that she has been able to show students how to grow their own food, such as tomatoes. "And they taste just as good or better than what you get from the grocery store because it's locally sourced right here, literally in our own backyard."

Harvest to Table is in its first year, serving as a pilot program that Grim hopes will be adopted by SCCPSS's other high schools that offer the family and consumer science track – Robert W. Groves and Herschel V. Jenkins. The program is a part of the district's Career, Technical and Agricultural Education options.

Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: SCCPSS and Forsyth Farmers' Market partner to teach 'life skills'