We've Been Busy - An Update on our School Farm

Sungold and washington tomatoes.

December has been nice.

I have spent the past month catching up from the growing season - catching up on sleep, catching up with friends, spending more time cooking and relaxing, more time with family.   

The break also means looking back on what we've accomplished this season. 

Some highlights: 

- Our 6,000 square foot garden grossed $14,500 in sales this season (up from last year's $1,300). A substantial jump that I am super proud of. 

- We grew 2,800 lbs of food which is deceptive since most of it was cut greens (hence the higher sales).

- We donated $1,600 worth of fresh produce to student volunteers, school cafeteria kitchens and drop in meal programs. 

- My most favourite: we hired ten high school students who worked full time summer jobs farming and they were absolutely incredible. In July we had a massive heat wave and so started our days at 7 am. I'd roll up to the school at 6:30 in the morning to find a group of high school students ready to work. They did not miss a single day. They were committed to each other and to the project. They would talk to market shoppers about the flavour of patty pan squash and offer samples of sweet sungolds. They held each other accountable in community meetings and they shared what was going on in their lives. They supported each other and made each other laugh - making repetitive farm tasks fun to do. We sat down to weekly meals prepped from scratch in their cooking classes. They were absolutely remarkable. 

- Our students also helped to establish a school rooftop garden at one of the high schools we work at this year. This incredible project was mainly accomplished by the other staff on my team - from designing the space, securing funding, building all the pieces and bringing it all together on site. I was in a real put-your-head-down-focus-on-production zone so wasn't much help with the installations. It's a 16,000 square foot space which now includes raised planters for vegetable production, a small fruiting orchard, 92 blueberry plants, shittake mushroom logs, a covered learning area and a classroom right off of the space. The students were a huge support in getting this project done this summer and I'm looking forward to growing lots more food next season as our production space increases.

Our story's been shared a few times too. You can read more here: 

"School Grown by the Numbers" - FoodShare Blog

"Schoolyard Farming Project Growing Food Security" - Social Enterprise Canada

"Success of Schoolyard Farming Enterprise Built on Collaboration" - Axiom News

"Eastdale Collegiate opens its roof to urban agriculture" - The Toronto Star

"Q&A with Katie German" - NOW Toronto

start of the season

I've spent the past few months developing a production plan for a school yard farm I'll be managing this summer. We are farming in two school yards (one is a rooftop space) and have funding to employ ten high school students who will also get 2 co-op credits for their work (such a dream situation!) We'll be selling at a farmers market and to a few local restaurants. We've had such good feedback from chefs and farmers - lots of local community support. It was my first time developing a crop plan, and with our focus on tight spaces and lots of quick successions it took a whole lot of time and attention to detail. I'm real happy that I did it though, I now have a fully developed business plan and crop plan that can be easily shared with the teachers and students we are working with and it will make planning in future seasons a breeze!

We've got our seeds, some new tools, row cover, irrigation lines, spring weather, energized students - all we need to do now is start growing. 

Supa Fresh Youth Farm - Tigard, Oregon

On our road trip north from California in the winter I visited Supa Fresh Youth Farm to chat with their program staff. It was the off season so there wasn't much youth action going on but they sure have a mighty inspiring project! 

Located in Tigard, Oregon, the Supa Fresh Youth Farm is entering its third growing season. Originally a work-learning program that connected youth with paid work placements at local businesses, the farm project started when a staff member found a long forgotten garden space tucked in the back corner of the local elementary school. 


The program is funded through the Oregon Human Development Corporation (OHDC) to hire youth participants who are between the ages of 16-21, currently in a school program and who face systemic barriers to accessing employment. Youth participants farm the garden space, growing fresh produce that they sell at the local farmer’s market while working on their employability skills and gaining valuable work experience.

Farm gates.

Youth farmers designed and built the arch.

Participants have their own schedule for farm days, attending the program at a pace that suits them. They keep track of their hours and receive a stipend of $600 for every 100 hours of work they put in. Supa Fresh has an informal partnership with an alternative school that they share office space with. The school is able to refer students that are looking for work, and Supa Fresh is able to connect their youth interns with credit recovery programs offered through the alternative school. Currently, their high school graduation rate is higher than the district average.

Pavilion for learning and farmer lunches.

The program maintains a focus on entrepreneurship and employability skills development. Youth are responsible for growing and preparing the harvest for market, as well as actively selling their produce at the farmer’s market. Each season they design and sell t-shirts as a way of fundraising for their program and raising awareness for their food security initiative. Programming includes cooking classes, team building exercises, a camping trip and opportunities to work alongside local farmers and chefs. 

Check out their website - lots of non-rainy winter photos! 

Hay bale beds - cost effective, warm up quick and
break down into organic matter at the end of the season.