Homegrown: Farm to School project

Michelle Kenyon Brown, executive coordinator for the Johnson County Local Food Alliance, sent the following this morning about an outdoor classroom pilot project:

 The Iowa City Community School District Farm to School Chapter, coordinated by Johnson County Local Food Alliance (JCLFA), brought together over 30 people interested in working on a school garden project last Saturday. Individuals from Longfellow Elementary, Hills Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, Kirkwood Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Southeast Junior High, Willowwind, & West High School were present. The Farm to School Chapter is looking to partner with Backyard Abundance on a school garden or outdoor classroom pilot project at a school in the district. 

"This meeting demonstrated that parents, teachers, students and administrators are strongly interested in including food, gardens and natural space into the school grounds and curriculum," said Michelle Kenyon Brown, JCLFA Executive Coordinator. "We look forward to working more closely with the schools to see what we can do together."  

"Planning school gardens and outdoor classrooms fits into the Farm to School Chapter's goals which are to: get kids thinking about where their food comes from and how it is grown; provide hands-on food activities for school students such as school gardens, in-class cooking demonstrations, and composting systems; help kids make healthy food choices; add more local foods to school meals and snacks; and support the local food economy," said Heather Widmayer, ICCSD Farm to School Coordinator. "Partnering with Backyard Abundance on this project is a logical choice since they have the experience and expertise to develop dynamic, nature-based play and learning spaces, plus they have already been working with schools to design outdoor space that furthers the educational experience for children."

"Research shows that children need connections with the natural world as a regular part of their healthy growth and development," said Fred Meyer, Executive Director of Backyard Abundance. "Backyard Abundance is prepared to bring our experts to the table to design outdoor classroom space that serves the educational needs of each individual school."

For more information, contact Michelle Kenyon Brown at Johnson County Local Food Alliance by emailing

michelle@jclfa.org or by calling (319) 936-2460.