Erin Delventhal
Student Farmer's Market
STUDENT FARMERS MARKET PROGRAM
Creator, Director, Volunteer
Sunset Beach Elem. School, Hawaii
The Student Farmer's Market program gave students the opportunity to grow and harvest produce to sell in the student led farmers market once a month. The student farmer's market club planted and maintained a fruit tree orchard and garden boxes on school grounds. Profits from these markets were then used to provide a Healthy Snacks to the entire school featuring local produce. This program provided over 20,000 healthy snacks over the course of 3 years.
`AINA KINE STUDENT FARMER'S MARKET PROGRAM
The `AINA Kine Student Farmer’s Market Club began in January of 2009. The program started with a simple idea I had of using excess produce grown in school and home gardens to benefit the school. From this idea, I worked with the school to create and develop a student run farmer's market program.
After establishing a Student Farmer's Market club, the club tended to school garden boxes and planted a 14 tree fruit orchard. The garden boxes made possible by a grant from the Kokua Hawaii Foundation and the school orchard through school community donations. Produce harvested from the gardens and orchards were sold at the Student Farmer's Market once a month. The profits from the markets were then used to purchase Healthy Snacks of fresh, locally grown fruits or vegetables to the entire school twice monthly. The scraps from the Healthy Snack were composted back into the school gardens. From 2009 to 2013, over 20,000 Healthy Snacks were served to the students of Sunset Beach Elementary School.
The goal of this program is to:
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To teach the students how to run a student led farmer’s market and educate them on the business and marketing strategies involved.
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To teach gardening practices to help students yield produce for the student farmer’s markets and monitor these yields.
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To educate the students about the produce found in their community & the farmers who grow it.
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Provide fresh, nutritious snacks.
Key components of the `AINA Kine program
Student Farmer’s Market Club
The students of the club run a monthly farmer’s market after school. Students actively collect produce from the community and the school gardens, along with setting up and working at the markets. Club meetings oversee the care and planting of the orchard and garden boxes.
Student Farmer’s Market
This market is made possible through the donations of fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants and herbs by the students and families of SBES and the community at large. Increasingly, the club is now able to rely upon school garden boxes, flowers and the orchard to provide the produce for the markets.
Healthy Snack
Profits from the student farmer’s market go directly into the Healthy Snack program. Snacks primarily consist of locally grown produce purchased fresh from local famers. Parent volunteers help to prepare and distribute snacks to the entire school before morning recess. Each of the snack trays delivered to the classrooms include information on the snack and where it was grown. The rubbish from the snacks is then composted in the school garden composting bins for later use in garden beds and the fruit tree orchard.
