High school feeds students with healthy greenhouse food

MCCRACKEN COUNTY, Ky. — Schools face a common battle: making sure they offer kids healthy meals they will actually eat. And the guidelines they follow are strict, from food preparation to balancing fruits and vegetables to monitoring salt levels, but one local school found an innovative way to get students interested in a healthy lunch.

There are two greenhouses at McCracken County High School, but the students say where these veggies and spices end up is the most rewarding part. Jacob Locke is a senior at McCracken County High School and says his favorite part as an agriculture student is harvesting his hard work and "the fact we're blessed enough to have things like this to help provide food —good healthy food."

His tomatoes, squash, cabbage, and spices end up right on his peers' lunch trays.

The agriculture students collaborate with culinary students like Terrilynn Melton to provide food for their friends. When they first had the responsibility of cooking and preparing herbs, Melton says, "we got out here and cooked it, and it was a lot better than we thought it was going to be. I liked it."

McCracken County Schools Food Service Director Sara Hedges tasked the student group to help flavor the school's food with herbs because salt shakers aren't allowed in the cafeteria.