Since 2011, the Detroit School Garden Collaborative (DSGC), a farm to school program operated through DPS’ Office of School Nutrition (OSN), has served as a shining light in 78 schools across the city, and most recently at Drew Farms. Deputy Executive Director, Betti Wiggins, started the farm to school program to support the OSN’s mission, “it takes more than books for students to learn.”

Wiggins has grown a program that not only provides over 100,000 daily meals to students, but also a comprehensive nutrition education curriculum and school garden program. For her, it is the long-term well-being of students that drives her work.

“Providing students an opportunity to develop a healthy lifestyle is my focus,” Wiggins said. “It’s the lifelong lessons that I really care about.”

These lessons are embedded in DSGC’s mission to involve students every step of the way. Thousands of transplants are seeded by Randolph Career & Tech Center high school students, who are then distributed to the school gardens. Students at Drew Transition Center learn work-based skills in the growing, harvesting, washing and packaging of over 20,000 pounds of produce that goes directly to school cafeterias.

Over 100 DPS students this summer will maintain the school gardens and Drew Farms, a partnership with the Greening of Detroit. The goal is to empower and educate beyond school walls.

“I started in this position because I wanted to learn how to eat healthy,” Sarita Steele, a fifth-year DSGC garden attendant shared. “Something that continues to surprise me is how much this is impacting not just students, but the whole community. When parents and neighbors walk past the school garden, they ask, ‘how can I do this at my own home?’ And that’s pretty powerful.”

Time in the garden is a highlight for both teachers and students. Amy Lazarowicz, a former DSGC teacher reflected, “Life science truly comes alive in our school garden. We call it our outdoor classroom. Maintaining a school garden truly enables students to be stewards of their environment.”

Lazarowicz went on to add that discovering bugs, harvesting produce and tasting it fresh out of the garden are experiences not available through books or the Internet. Her current Neinas Elementary School community is active in the garden as well, with parents and community members excited to see what is growing.

Kayla Searcy, a junior at Detroit School of Arts, has participated in the summer youth employment program for two years. “I look forward to this all year long,” Searcy said. “It’s awesome to run the farm stand and sell produce I’ve grown.”

After learning the parts of plants, identifying native plants, planting seeds and even sitting on the farm tractor, Ms. Moyski’s class recommended more students come for a Drew Farms field trip. One student wrote, “Drew Farms is a fun place to learn. Everyone needs a change.”

Whatever change that student was referencing, there is certainly a long way to go when it comes to providing students with the necessary tools to build a healthy lifestyle. OSN is committed to providing those tools by serving healthy foods and lifelong lessons that develop students for years to come.