Mayor Kevin Johnson launched an "edible schoolyard" at Sacramento Charter High School this morning. He was joined in the venture by renowned Berkeley chef Alice Waters.
The Edible Sac High program was coordinated by Johnson's Greenwise clean technology initiative. As part of the program, students at the Oak Park school will operate a garden, a kitchen classroom and a cafeteria on campus. It is modeled after the edible schoolyard program launched by Waters at Berkeley's Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School.
Johnson said the Sac High school yard will "teach our children the skills and knowledge necessary for them to be healthy for life." Winter crops will be planted soon and plans call for the garden - along with trees provided by the Sacramento Tree Foundation - to be in place by next summer.
Edible Sac High will involve 90 students.
"Because we serve 6 million meals annually, improving cafeteria food has been of utmost importance," said city school district Superintendent Jonathan Raymond. "However, it is just as important that students learn where food comes from so they can make healthy choices outside of school. School gardens provide this important linkage - one reason we are committed to establishing them throughout the district."
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