It is imperative that our children not only plant a garden but that it thrives and produces the same results we expect of them, excellence.
Watch and discover what The Farm Academy can do for you.
Together We Grow
We have developed a proven school farm system that brings teachers and students together like never before. Through a coordinated effort we are able to offer schools a sustainable garden program that will provide educational enrichment and nutritional benefit for the entire student body. Throughout the entire school year The Farm Academy brings the joy of harvesting and eating fresh vegetables to students, teachers and school families.
From the Ground Up
The Farm Academy is an organic vegetable production system that provides access to the freshest organic vegetables throughout the school year to any school with a sunny plot of soil. We take on the back-breaking, time-consuming chores essential for building and growing a bountiful garden. Your students enjoy harvesting the produce and exploring the many learning opportunities a garden provides. Our team not only builds the farm but tends to all the growing requirements: supplying plants, composting, irrigation management, mulching, fertilizing, weeding, insect and disease control.
All Hands-On
Students plant and harvest the most delectable and nutritious vegetables available. The Farm Academy is based on teamwork. After building the School Farm we partner with two 'Farmhands' (school faculty members) to facilitate a month-by-month planting, growing and harvesting program. Our goal is to empower your students with the hands-on experience of growing and eating the fruits of their labor. This full circle connection changes the hearts and minds of children forever.
Farm to Cafeteria
The students not only sow the seed and plant the starters, but they also harvest weekly, supplementing the school kitchen or taking it home to enjoy with their families. We offer back-end support for your kitchen staff as well with proven recipes both students and faculty will enjoy. The farm will produce an abundance of cool season vegetables including lettuces, strawberries, kale, collards, arugula, herbs and more! Each summer you are able to choose the crops that will be planted throughout the school year. The salad bar comes to life and nutrient-dense cold crops are turned into mouth-watering soups that will have the students coming back for more on a cold winter's day!
The Learning Farm
Besides growing and eating from the farm, the Farm Academy empowers teachers in so many ways. Research shows that math, science, language arts and virtually all curricula can be enhanced with the school farm. This has a direct effect on test scores as well as a deeper real-world learning. Cornell University has compiled a database of over 50 studies that document the importance of garden-based education.
Including: Nutrition Awareness / Environmental Awareness / Learning Achievements / Life Skills
Health and Wellness / Community Building and Social Connections / Garden-based Learning
http://gardening.cals.cornell.edu/program-tools/benefits-and-research/key-findings/
The Testimonials
After years of working with schools in Texas we have developed and refined a system that is proven to benefit and enhance any school that desires the utmost for their students. The partnership we have with All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler has been invaluable, from the innovative headmaster Mike Cobb to head chef Brady, we are grateful for there deep insight in helping us refine the Farm Academy and making it what it is today. We encourage you to take a few moments and discover for yourselves how The Farm Academy can get your school growing!
After years of working with schools in Texas we have developed and refined a system that is proven to benefit and enhance any school that desires the utmost for their students. The partnership we have with All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler has been invaluable, from the innovative headmaster Mike Cobb to head chef Brady, we are grateful for there deep insight in helping us refine the Farm Academy and making it what it is today. We encourage you to take a few moments and discover for yourselves how The Farm Academy can get your school growing!
Positive Change Through Authentic Learning Makes A Difference!
The Farm Academy provides the opportunity for our kids to get out from behind screens and get into nature that they otherwise would not have.
Dr. Nichols, Superintendent New Summerfield ISD
The experience with our learning farm has been transformative for our school. To take the vision we have for authentic learning and student agency and truly bring it to life with the farm has been one of the joys of my life. This is one of the oldest forms of learning that we have, so our teachers love that when they go out to the farm they don’t have to try to generate authentic learning. It’s there for them, they don’t have to give agency to the students; the kids are taking it for themselves so it’s the perfect learning environment. Working with Farm Academy has been amazing, they have the knowledge to help us be very good with what we do with our students, to make sure they are truly learning the process and learning through having a farm; but also not doing it for them so that is the balance we’ve truly been able to achieve.
Mike Cobb, Head of School All Saints Episcopal School
I have these kids 155 days a year, so when they are eating vegetables every single day and these vegetables are from an environment that is in its purest form possible, that is cool! We have generations of kids that when they think of home cooking, they think of the fryer, we need to rethink this. Let’s get back to the purest form of food, a plant that came out of Mother Nature that morning and went to the pan, flash sauteed it with a little bit of salt, there’s nothing better!
Chef Michael Brady, Director of Food Services All Saints
I’ve driven past so many schools that have tried to implement a school garden and what you see are overgrown with weeds or not being used, but when you have someone helping you facilitate a farm it makes a huge difference and it becomes feasible.
Tyne White Head of School Good Shepherd School Tyler, Texas