By Chris Aldridge

Kentucky Ag News

HODGENVILLE – During Farm to School Month in October, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is encouraging school cafeterias across the Commonwealth to increase their use of local farm commodities in the food they serve.

Nothing is more local than the lettuce used in LaRue County High School’s cafeteria. It’s grown behind the school year-round inside a 56-feet by 72-feet student-run greenhouse.

“You won’t see lettuce any fresher!” agriculture teacher Chris Thomas said of the iceberg, romaine, and six other varieties of hydroponic lettuce raised by the school’s ag students. “All the lettuce we raise goes to the cafeteria.

“Students can see a product from seed to eating it,” Thomas said. “They see where their food comes from. We talk about local food a lot. Now they can see it.”

The greenhouse was one of 15 stations students visited during Ag Awareness Day at LaRue County High. Another station inside the greenhouse was a large fish tank where ag students are raising tilapia, some of which have grown to 2 pounds.

Student interest pushed the school to build the greenhouse while classes were not in session during the COVID-19 pandemic. The high school secured a $60,000 grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund to purchase the hydroponic equipment and fish tank.

“This is an expensive piece of infrastructure,” Thomas said. “Our goal is to provide our entire school district with lettuce each day.”

But before that can happen, production must increase just to supply all the lettuce that the high school cafeteria needs.

The school bought $1,100 worth of lettuce from the greenhouse in four months from February to May. It takes the lettuce 35-45 days of growing hydroponically before it’s mature enough to harvest.

“We’ve got a premium product, but we’re not getting a premium price right now,” Thomas said. “That ($1,100) covered our expenses, but it doesn’t pay for water, heating, and electricity, so the school takes care of that.”

Ag students are planning to grow rice in an empty bed inside the greenhouse. In the past, they tried strawberries, which proved difficult to grow. The students also tried to raise catfish in the tank before settling on tilapia.

“Even if a student is not interested in ag as a career, it teaches responsibility, hard work, and problem solving,” Thomas said. “Those skills are transferable.”

Some of the school’s FFA students are using the greenhouse for their supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs).

“With fewer kids growing up on farms, you’re seeing more school-based SAEs,” Thomas said. “This is a working farm even though it’s at school.”

Thomas would also like to start raising food animals. The school has a few egg-laying chickens and just purchased two piglets.

“I want to get into meats like pork and chicken,” Thomas said.

Senior student Mireya Villanos manages the greenhouse. The greenhouse never closes, so she visits regularly over the summer and during breaks to feed the fish, chickens, and now, piglets.

“I came in here clueless about everything (agriculture),” Villanos said. “Now, this (greenhouse) is like my place to be…. Hearing the fish as they eat their food feels like happiness to me.”

Villanos has been accepted to the University of Kentucky next fall. She plans to study agriculture and medical biotechnology.

“I don’t live on a farm, but ag has been my passion since being in an ag class,” Villanos said. “Being able to help my (school) community brings happiness to my life.”