The Food for Thought program connects the dining hall, teaching garden, and composting system into one project that explores the ecology of food systems. With the growing concern over childhood obesity and the common disconnect between people and their food sources, we've made Food For Thought an important part of our curriculum.

Food for Thought in the Garden
Ferry Beach Ecology School has been growing organically since its founding in 1999. We add our own compost to the garden beds, rotate crops, practice companion planting, and plant cover crops over the winter. These practices nurture the plants, soil, and water while in turn nurturing ourselves when we eat! Over the years we made many improvements to our original garden. We have redesigned and nearly doubled the square footage of our garden beds, expanded upon our 4-bin composting system, and installed a greenhouse, a tool shed and an information kiosk. Our students, staff and visitors have also sampled a variety of fruits and vegetables, with the surplus going to the Good Shepherd Food Bank in downtown Saco.

This watercolor of our organic garden shows the radial design and planting areas.

A garden is a great place to learn about ecology and ties in well with the ecological systems featured in other lessons. As a miniature, human-controlled ecosystem, a garden demonstrates the importance of abiotic factors like water, sun and soil. One can watch the interactions between biotic organisms, for example beneficial insects protect plants from pests. One can also see the life cycle in action by observing how plants change throughout the growing season. A trip to the garden shows students how the same resources that we need to grow food also allow for diversity and production in other ecosystems!.

Though the Ferry Beach garden is not large enough to fully offset the food needs of our visitors and staff, it is a way for them to see a local food system in action. Students have the opportunity to pick and eat peas, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, sunflower seeds, and much more. They get their hands dirty by working the soil, planting seeds, mulching and watering, and going on pest patrol. Students have baked zucchini bread, prepared herbal teas, and enjoyed chive spread, all from our garden.

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Food for Thought and the Compost
The compost pile is a great place to talk about nutrient cycles, decomposers, soil formation, and other important ecological concepts. Composting is a wonderful form of recycling by turning food waste into rich soil that provides the nutrients necessary to grow more delicious and nutritious food. At Ferry Beach, we use two methods of composting our food waste- a traditional compost pile and vermicomposting: using worms in a small, enclosed system to create soil from food waste.

Students try their hand at turning the compost

The compost pile is a haven for a wide variety of decomposers. Fungi, bacteria and invertebrates can all be found there working hard to convert food scraps into soil. It generally takes about two months to convert our dining hall wastes into a product that is ready to be spread on the garden. We get everyone involved -- students and naturalists alike are asked to lend a hand in turning the compost and spreading it on the garden.

Not all of our compost ends up in our compost bins. Some of it is fed to our pet worms! Our red wigglers are living in rubber bins and are relatively easy to care for. We feed them fruit cores and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags, and egg shells. They then turn these leftovers into rich garden soil. To learn more about worm composting and setting up a bin in your home or classroom, check out this link: www.wormwoman.com

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Food for Thought in the Dining Hall
The dining hall is not only a place where we nourish our bodies, but also a place where we nourish our minds. We schedule an hour for each meal so students have the time to slow down, enjoy their food, and converse with others at their table. This is a welcome change for many students who are used to twenty minute meals at school.

Throughout each meal, the dining hall coordinator finds opportunities to educate our students about the food on their plates. Whether it is through announcing a meal sponsor and exploring the energy used in food production or coordinating a dinner theater that addresses food issues in a lighthearted manner, there is plenty of room for education in an entertaining way.

A significant amount of time and research has gone into providing more local, regional and organic food in our dining hall. Our efforts have resulted in the following changes:

Organic Foods:
Corn Meal
Brown Rice
Flours
Granola
Oats
Pasta
Tomato Sauce

Local / Regional Foods:
Apples
Cheese
Cider
Flours (milled in Maine)
Milk
Potatoes

Homemade Foods:
Breads
Desserts
Pancakes & French Toast
Pasta Sauces
Pizza Dough
Salads

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