Springfield schools get $100,000 grant to expand farm learning

The 10-acre SPS Farm on Flamingo Avenue in north Springfield just got a $100,000 lift that could send more fresh produce into school cafeterias and more students into hands-on learning. Springfield Public Schools said the Oregon Department of Education grant will help keep the farm operating, expand what it grows and widen access to farm-based instruction across the district.

That matters in a district serving about 12,300 to 12,900 free breakfasts and 24,000 to 24,500 free lunches each week across 20 schools. The farm is expected to help supply that larger food system with romaine lettuce, joi choi, yellow pear cherry tomatoes and kalibos red cabbage, while also increasing production of cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco broccoli, cucumbers, sweet peppers, jalapeños, onions, cilantro and tomatoes.

The state awarded 76 recipients a combined $3 million in this grant round. Oregon Department of Education says its Farm to Child Nutrition Programs grant has been operating since 2012, and the agency’s 2022-23 Oregon School Garden Survey counted 788 school gardens statewide, showing that garden-based learning is already a deep part of Oregon school life.

For Springfield, the grant supports a reboot as much as an expansion. The district says the land on Flamingo Avenue historically had been used as a farm and orchard. Willamalane uses part of the property as a community garden, and FOOD for Lane County uses another section for meal projects. The Youth Transition Program once used the farm as a work-experience site for special education students and even ran a fresh produce stand in downtown Springfield.

The farm shut down in late 2021 because of pandemic complications and sat unused for three years. Joyce Douglas began revitalizing the topsoil in July 2023, and the new funding will help her continue that work with on-site cold storage, soil, seeds and fertilizer.

Springfield says farm-to-school work is already visible at Guy Lee Elementary, where students take field trips to FOOD for Lane County’s Youth Farm, visit tasting tables, take part in a harvest meal, work in garden sessions and learn through nutrition lessons. The district also has partnered with the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, FOOD for Lane County’s Youth Farm and Emerald Fruit and Produce.

Douglas said the district is expanding partnerships with the Community Transition Program, Life Skills Program and Youth Transition Program to provide more work-based learning, and Springfield is working with A3 on hands-on agricultural learning this spring. The grant gives the SPS Farm a path to keep growing as a classroom, a job-training site and a source of food for Springfield schools.