Gaston County Schools garden-to-table program expands

For the last two years, Gaston County Schools’ nutrition department has worked to cultivate its farm-to-lunchroom program.

With help from local agriculture professionals and Deep Roots farm owners Wisdom and Cherie Jzar, the program is expected to expand in coming years.

“It's currently at about 20% of where it's going to be,” GCS Nutrition Director Angela Calamia said.

In 2023, the nutrition department was recognized for providing freshly grown vegetables for students in its summer feeding program.

Hundreds of pounds of vegetables are grown in the garden including summer crops like zucchini, squash, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Those vegetables make a great addition to the schools summer feeding program and even help serve students into the fall, according to Calamia.

However, the program has struggled to produce enough lettuce to keep up with the demand for salads throughout the school year, she said.

In order to address the need for more lettuce, Calamia said the nutrition department will be leaning heavily into lettuce production this fall and will overall focus on fall and spring crops.

Deep Roots

Coming onto the scene early this year, the Jzars are working with the department to plan fall and spring crops and tend the garden.

The pair visits the garden around three times per week to check the crops, harvest those that are ready, and work on the land.

The most recent harvest included more than 400 pounds of fresh produce, according to Wisdom Jzar.

The Jzars are first generation farmers who began by homesteading on their 7-acre property in Charlotte, he said.

Today, in addition to running their own personal farm, they offer management services to help facilitate successful farms and gardening programs in the area.

Wisdom Jzar said they hope to have the Gaston County Schools garden producing 600-800 pounds of produce per week by next year.

Costs and benefits

According to Calamia, the nutrition department pays $4,000 per month for the Jzars’ work in the garden, a cost that they believe will be offset overtime as the need to buy produce is eliminated.

The district currently spends $20 million per year on food, she added.

Additionally, Calamia said, the food will provide students with organic produce grown without chemicals, reduce food waste in the district, and save packaging and fuel.

All of the produce is grown at the Dora Humphrey School Nutrition Center, where all of the meals for Gaston County Schools are prepared before being shipped out to each school.

“It is a better product,” she said.

The Gaston County School district is currently the only district in the state with a program like this, she added.