Ecology On The Menu

Alice Waters has become almost as well known for her Edible Schoolyard project as for her restaurant, Chez Panisse. Not only are more elementary schools and high schools putting locally grown food on their lunch menus, but more are choosing to grow it themselves.

The Hartford Courant recently profiled one effort by the schools of Bloomfield, Conn. For a bit over a decade, the system has had vocational agriculture science and technology center, where the students learn about environmental issues, plant and animal science and aquaculture.

So it was perhaps not surprising when a new food services manager decided the center could also produce some of the food for the system's cafeterias. What's growing seems a good reflection of Bloomfield's racial diversity: kale, leeks, winter squash, parsley, oregano, onions and Scotch bonnet chile peppers. These kids are also raising their own chickens and eggs.

Score one for sustainability.