As they work, the students move stacks of newspapers and tall, wobbly stacks of pots. They tote wheelbarrows of trash out of the structure. New shovels with the stickers still attached to the blade wait in the corner.

Development of the garden will take place in 4-by-4-foot patches that will be adopted by students and classes.

It should work in concert with the farmers market, a weekly event at the school starting April 28.

Board President Marlene Canter and the Southland Farmers’ Market Association eventually will set up seven other such markets at LAUSD schools.

“We’re trying to change the way schools think about how they assemble menus for their students,” said association Executive Director Howell Tumlin. “We would like to see schools include more locally produced farm-fresh fruits and vegetables for the students.”

The LAUSD’s Nutrition Network program offers cooking lessons and food-based instruction in schools.

But the eat-healthy message has only recently starting to reach high school students, Canter said.

During an 18-month period in 2003 and 2005, Canter and the school board banned sodas and junk food from LAUSD campuses and imposed nutritional standards for food served in cafeterias.

“We still have a long way to go, but we have a new food services director who’s on it,” Canter said. “We need our kids to be healthy in order for them to learn.”

By : paul.clinton@dailybreeze.com via : www.dailybreeze.com

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