Nike Alternative HS News

Nike Students Share Harvest

The late fall harvest of organic greens and herbs was so abundant from the garden at the Nike Alternative High School that students decided to share their bounty with the Long Beach Food and Friendship INN. Students were proud to be able to gather several baskets of kale, collard greens, bok choy, Asian greens, arugula, Swiss chard and herbs, which they delivered in person to the soup kitchen in time for its holiday dinner.

Nike students first broke ground on their garden in the spring of 2009, working in conjunction with Bernadette Martin, the director of Friends & Farmers Inc. and administrator of the Long Beach Farmers Market at Kennedy Plaza. In addition to gardening basics, they have been learning about soil science, biology, nutrition, food justice and scarcity issues. They have also been harvesting enough from their raised beds to sell their produce weekly at the Farmers Market. Nike student Monique Weed has secured an internship at the Farmers Market, where she has been learning the skills necessary to run a successful market stall. This summer, that internship will evolve into a summer job for Monique.

 According to Ms. Martin, the concept is called Community-Supported Agriculture, with the goal of selling enough produce to make it a self-sustaining program. Over time it should be able to provide even more students with internships and summer jobs that will give them valuable experience in both agriculture and business.