District nabs grant for student-run farm

OXFORD HILLS — Schoolchildren will soon be growing food for needy families, thanks to a state grant that was awarded to SAD 17.

Students from local elementary schools, the middle school, and the high school will come together to found and work a four-acre farm, with a goal of raising produce for local families that don't have consistent access to food.

"Everyone is really cognizant of the fact that one in five Oxford Hills families has food security issues," said Pat Carson, the district's health coordinator.

The Maine Commission for Community Service chose SAD 17 and one other district from among 70 applicants.

"We actually got the highest score from all the applicants," said Carson. "I think that's telling about the Oxford Hills Community in a lot of ways, that it is a caring place."

Carson says that the students themselves were in favor of directing the food toward hungry families.

"When it came time to decide what to do with the produce grown at the farm," said Carson, "the ... students [said]  'let's give it back to ... Maine Harvest for Hunger so that local people can have access to fresh produce for three seasons out of the year.'"

While the program represents a boon to the area's hungry, the district is more interested in the educational opportunities that come with a student-run farm at the Roberts Preserve in Norway.

"It's a brand new educational program," said Carson. "We've never incorporated a farm school curriculum into our K - 12 curriculum."

Carson says that many details about the farm are wide open, and will be decided upon by students as they research topics such as organic and sustainable farming practices, the impact of a farm on the local watershed, and maximizing food production.

The program is not without precedent.

Buckfield students recently participated in an acclaimed 1.5-acre gardening project, but Carson says that this farm will be operated on a grander scale.

"We're hoping for a four-acre farm, and we're really trying to grow about 30,000 pounds of produce," said Carson.

The grant money will be used to pay for much of the farm's startup costs, including an AmeriCorps instructor, and the hiring of three or four underprivileged youth to work at the farm over the summer.

Carson said that he hoped the activity at the farm would help encourage students and their families to utilize other resources at the Roberts Farm, which features a variety of outdoor activities.

"The Western Foothills Land Trust has been so great to let us use their property," said Carson.

Carson hopes that, after the funding has expired, the program will be able to continue indefinitely as an integrated part of the district's more traditional curriculum.

The other grant recipient is Sanford School.

The grant, called a "Learn & Serve" grant, is funded jointly by the Corporation for National & Community Service, and Time Warner Cable.

“We’re pleased to support these service-learning projects on behalf of our 1,000 employees in Maine,” said Paul S. Schonewolf, a vice president with Time Warner Cable. “These service-learning projects dovetail nicely with our company’s philanthropic initiative to get kids excited about science, technology, engineering and math and developing the skills they’ll need for successful careers in the 21st Century.”