Columbus—There's tons of excitement in the garden at Herbert Mills Elementary School.
- A large percentage of students at Herbert Mills Elementary School in Columbus are eligible for free and reduced lunch
- Second graders at the school were challenged to find a way to combat hunger, poverty and clean water issues
- In the coming months, the students will open their very own farmer's market
"The best part is...digging because you can look at creatures you don't know about, hidden seeds or like mysterious rocks," said Riley Lloyd, student.
But this isn't just any garden.
"We're growing our garden to make food for people who are in hunger and we're trying to solve that problem...and make zero hunger," said Abigail Viney, student.
"It's fun to help other people," said Patrick Lee, student.
At the beginning of the year, teachers challenged these second graders to find a way to stamp out hunger, poverty, and clean water issues in the U.S. and around the world.
Teacher Tonya Sherman says it wasn't long before the kids came up with the idea of a farmer's market.
The goal—to supply food for people in their community, including their peers.
Right now, a large percentage of students at Herbert Mills are eligible for free and reduced lunch.
But to conquer the problem, students needed a place to plant their seeds.
"The garden stemmed from Zero Hunger... since we have a garden we really hadn't been using it too much,” said Sherman. “So, we decided to take it on, redesign it, revamp it."
As students worked on the transformation, they didn't mind getting their hands dirty.
"First we started pulling weeds and I didn't know why," said Lloyd.
Now, that's all changed. It's been a lesson about the process of growing food and what's needed to do it—like the right type of soil and composting.
While they wait to get new planting beds, they're looking forward to summer, when they'll see the first fruits of their labor and have a staff of students and teachers tending it.
When school starts again, they'll be ready to share vegetables like lettuce, green beans, and tomatoes—that they've grown.
"Once the plants are all grown, we'll invite the community to come pick from the garden," said Sherman.
That also means students reap the rewards on their own lunch plates, too—something that will help a number of families who need it.
Students will start planting in May. Then once the farmer's market gets up and running, school officials say they want to create an outdoor learning space, which allows kids to do cooking demonstrations as well.
