On Thursday, September 27, ground was officially broken on Full Circle Farm – a unique partnership between the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) and Sustainable Community Gardens.  Full Circle Farm, located on 11-acres at the site of Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale, will provide fresh, organic produce to Santa Clara School District cafeterias.

 

How the project came about is probably one of the better examples of what can happen when different entities corroborate with each other on a common goal.  According to some of the neighbors, what had been at times, a contentious issue has worked out favorably for the school district and the neighborhoods.  A report from 2004 stated the “…twenty-five acre piece of property associated with Peterson Middle School, has been the center of controversy for several years…. The district has received many complaints from the neighbors related to users of the Field and complaints from users and organizations who want to schedule use of the Field.   Residents complain about the noise, mess, traffic and behavior of the Field users.  Users complain about the condition…and lack of access and scheduling opportunity.”

 

While the project ideas were being discussed, rumors flew about possible uses and what the school district might or might not do.  According to Don Schinski, a long-time Sunnyvale resident, the school district found a way “…to keep the neighbors happy.”  Dennis Dowling, a Bio-Environment Science teacher at Wilcox High School and volunteer at the groundbreaking said, “students will become involved in the workings of the farm.”  To graduate, “…students need community service credits…” and working on the farm will be something they will be “encouraged to do for their community service credits.” 

 

Sustainable Community Gardens (SCG) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the renewal of local, sustainable food systems throughout Silicon Valley. SCG provides affordable access to locally produced food, as well as education in environmental living, sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and gardening.  It is anticipated that with the partnership with school district, SCG will be well on its way to giving 14,000 kids the chance to experience planting, caring for, harvesting and eating their own food.

 

A number of organizations were on hand for the ground breaking providing information on foods, healthy eating and possible future curriculums for students.  Additionally, Google’s Café 150 put their chefs to work on a variety of delectable foods.  Café 150 earns its name by purchasing from local farms within a 150-mile radius.  Attendees at the groundbreaking enjoyed what they ate – Olivia, 7, gave a firm thumbs up and said “Great!” when asked how she liked the food.  The Laurelwood Elementary School Chorus sang a song about Full Circle Farms during the program.

 

Full Circle Farm hopes by bringing fresh, local food to district cafeterias to inspire students with a unique, hands-on celebration of health: healthy schools, healthy communities and a healthy environment.  The farm will offer outdoor classes in nutrition and sustainable living, community festivals and workshops and a unique open space with trails meandering through fields and orchards.  Fifty percent of the farm’s produce will go to the district’s school lunch programs, where 45% of students qualify for free or reduced cost school lunch.  School farms have dual effects on student learning;  they can help students grasp the most important environmental issues of our time and also inspire them toward personal health and fitness. “We are looking forward to providing more fresh fruits and vegetables in our cafeterias, not only to feed our students healthier meals, but to help them learn how to eat healthy outside of school,” says Roger Barnes, SCUSD Business Administrator.

 

Liz Snyder-Liles, Full Circle Farm’s Program Director, adds “Our far-flung food supply is the world’s biggest oil guzzler. More than our cars, more than the military.  One of the best things we can do to preserve our environment is to bring food production back home.  To that end, we are helping to grow a new generation of environmental leaders, working together to make a local food system possible.”

 

Full Circle is also proud to be a partner in Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) Initiative, working to promote healthy living through access to fresh food and open spaces. "Kaiser Permanente’s initial grant to Full Circle Farm will help them clean and enrich the plot, because healthy soil will grow healthy produce for healthy communities, and that’s what Kaiser Permanente is all about,” says Mary Ann Barnes, Sr. VP and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center.  "Kaiser Permanente envisions communities coming together to plant, cultivate and enjoy healthy organic produce, a lifestyle that will last a lifetime."