In Ms. Wiggins' fifth-grade class at Cascade Elementary in
Atlanta’s West End, it’s coming up on state testing time. The
kids are weary and antsy, having spent the past few weeks
enduring lessons on facts and figures to prepare for the tests
that will determine, among other things, the school’s level of
funding. But at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays, it’s time for a different
kind of lesson. On this particular Tuesday, using veggies
they’ve grown themselves in the school’s courtyard garden, the
kids will be making soup. All over Atlanta, schools are
beginning to bring food into their schoolyards and classrooms in
the form of edible gardens. These schools and the programs that
support them hope to give kids a connection to healthy eating
and food systems in a way that's radically more tangible than
classroom lectures. Seeds of Nutrition is an arm of the Mendez
Foundation, the nonprofit that helped plan, build and start
Cascade's garden. The foundation also provides the Tuesday
classes. Foundation employees Seth Freedman