Tupelo’s Parkway Elementary Celebrates ‘Farm To School’ With Outdoor Classroom

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TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Second graders at one Tupelo school are getting a hands on lesson about the importance of eating vegetables.

It’s part of an initiative known as “farm to school” and as WCBI’s Allie Martin reports, the students are getting the message that fresh fruits and vegetables are better for you and fun to watch as they sprout and grown.

For two months now, these Parkway second graders have been learning about agriculture and how food gets from the farm to the school and their dinner table.

“You get to make your own food, instead of going shopping, you can do it right at your house, or wherever you are, if you have seeds and water,” said Second Grader Mac Wilemon.

That is the message of the “Farm to School ” movement. The national initiative encourages schools to use locally grown fruits and vegetables.

At Parkway, the second graders planted this vegetable garden.

“We are hoping this will develop healthy habits, and we have an after school club, a garden club, and we hope to harvest some things from our garden and our students will use those in some recipes,” said Principal Mitzi Moore.

To raise awareness of  National Farm to School Month, Parkway Elementary hosted a celebration.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi donated 10 thousand dollars to the school district’s “Growing Healthy Waves” program, which teaches about food and nutrition.

These students understand the importance of eating healthy, even though the leafy greens may not be their first choice.

“If you don’t eat healthy, you will get weak and you can’t move and you won’t get strong,” said Second Grader Taylor Norwood.

“My dad gets me to eat vegetables but I don’t like most,” Wilemon said.

The “Growing Healthy Waves” program is set to expand to all TPSD schools in the next few years.