Lettuce Give Thanks!
Photo of Hamilton School District hydroponic farming.
Maggie Watson
When people think of hydroponic farms, they usually think of a sci-fi spaceship growing food for their long journey, but hydroponics, the process of growing plants in a nutrient solution rather than soil, is more accessible than you may expect. When you eat a salad from our salad bar, you can thank this exact technology for providing fresh lettuce on the daily.
Our school implemented these hydroponic farming techniques in 2022 under Kira Cerroni King, our district’s Director of Nutritional Services. A little over a year later, our district currently has two units at the high school, two at Templeton Middle School, two at Silver Spring Intermediate School, and one at each elementary school. Since expanding the hydroponic farms to the elementary schools, it’s been a hit! Each growing pod is assigned a certain grade or class to oversee the project, including a Woodside Elementary kindergarten class. Students, now involved in the growing process, are more invested in the outcome. One student even said he “took [lettuce for lunch] because I actually grew it.” This technology not only encourages learning, from discovering how seeds grow to inventing salad dressing, but equally encourages healthy eating habits.
Our district nutrition team wants students to know how lucky they are to have farm-fresh, organic produce right here from Hamilton, especially as it isn’t otherwise available in the budget. The Hamilton High School kitchen works hard to make healthy lunches for students to have access to nutrition, and their work to grow different strains of lettuce, basil, cilantro, and other herbs has led to a fan-favorite dish: pesto pasta! While hydroponic farming done on this scale does not allow for much to be grown other than lettuce and herbs, it gets the job done. Smaller hydroponic systems can be used in homes and growing fresh herbs can spice up a meal.
It’s important to know how much work our kitchen puts into our meals, including the technology they’ve used to literally spice things up for us. Huge shout out to Mrs. Cerroni King and the other cafeteria staff for everything they do for us!
