Students' Salad at School Lunch!

Students at Excelsior Middle School and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in San Francisco enjoyed delicious, fresh, organic salads at school lunch this week!

The salad above, grown completely in the EMS garden, shows the variety of veggies that went into these salads. Students added 6 kinds of lettuce, carrots, beets, fava leaves, fennel, mint, borage flowers, onions and more!

Students harvested, prepared and served the salad during school lunch in the cafeteria at both schools. The EMS salad came entirely from the garden - students swarmed the table and it was gone in seconds! The MLK salad was supplemented by a big 5 pound box of organic salad greens from a local farm - the students finished the entire 5 pounds, all topped with healthy dressing the students made themselves.

A big leap forward for kids eating fresh veggies at lunch!

Let's see the students in action along the way. After the harvest, students prepared the salads at EMS:

And served it in the cafeteria, with the help of wonderful Urban Sprouts volunteers:
At MLK, students prepared special salad dressings from scratch:
and served over 5 pounds of salad to the entire student body!
Students, teachers, and staff had fun, felt proud of their accomplishments, and enjoyed a fresh and healthy meal. Yum!

First Ever Summer Program!

We are very excited to announce . . . for the first time ever:

Urban Sprouts and the Garden for the Environment invite middle school youth ages 11-13 to join our Summer Program!

When and Where?

• Program Dates: June 25th through July 7th. Every weekday from 9am to 1pm (lunch included), with our Final Day Garden Party on Saturday July 7th.
  
• Location: The Garden for the Environment is located on the corner of 7th Avenue and Lawton Street in the Inner Sunset;

What will We Do?

• Work in the garden at the Garden for the Environment
• Harvest, prepare, cook and eat healthy food for lunch every day
• Learn about gardening, cooking, where food comes from, healthy eating, and how to take care of the environment in your community.
• Be creative and make garden art.
• Play games and get to know new people.
• Learn to be a leader in your school and at home – teach others about gardening, healthy food and the environment!
• Celebrate at our Final Day Garden Party on the last day, Saturday July 7th from 11am to 1pm, and invite your friends and family.

What will We Learn?

• Healthy Eating – how to read food nutrition labels, how to make healthy food choices, and how to LOVE eating fruits and vegetables!
• Environmental Skills – how to grow food and flowers in the garden, how to take care of the environment through gardening, composting, recycling and water conservation!
• Physical Activity – how to stay strong and healthy by working your body in the garden!
• Leadership – learn new skills and become a stronger, more confident leader in your school and community.
• Job Skills - how to get and keep a job - and get paid too! Youth receive a stipend for completion.
  

Made possible by support from San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth and their Families!

summer program
youth job

What's Cookin?

Garden crops are ready to harvest! We've got greens, lettuces, strawberries, onions, broccoli, and fava beans galore! Have a taste in the garden before the gophers get it all!

A few weeks ago, 6th graders at Martin Luther King Jr., Middle School made a delicious stir fry with Urban Sprouts' educator Herman Yee. Special thanks to Herman's mom, Eleanor, who helped out too!

First, the Harvest:
Next, the chopping and prepping:

Add some broccoli and purple peas from the garden:

Finally, the secret spices, and you're ready to go!
Delicious! And we enjoyed every bite!

By the way, if you'd like to taste some garden-grown veggies with us at school, please visit us for the following events!

THURSDAY, May 10TH: Ida B Wells HS Art and Garden Open House. 4-6pm, Ida B Wells HS (Alamo Square Park). Enjoy the student art opening including art, poetry, garden installations, tastings of garden produce, and garden tours. You are invited!

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MAY 19-20: Garden Work Parties: Work in the Garden, Harvest and eat delicious fruits and veggies, and celebrate with us a successful year of gardening! We need volunteers to help at both schools! Saturday, May 19 at Martin Luther King MS; Sunday May 20 at Excelsior MS; 11am to 2pm.

THURSDAY 5/17 & TUESDAY 5/22: Salad Days! Help the students to harvest, prepare and serve garden-grown salads for their entire school at lunch! Thursday 5/17 at Excelsior MS and Tuesday 5/22 at Martin Luther King MS. Support healthy eating at school!