The nonprofit bringing hands-on garden and farm education to schools in Yolo County
By: Ashley Arax
As a parent raising a small child in our farm to fork region, visiting the many wonderful farms around us is a favorite activity. Countless “u-picks” and dirt-stained clothes later, I’ve been thinking about the next phase of my daughter’s aggie education as we start our public school journey. I was glad to learn that there is an organization dedicated to supporting farm and garden-based education in our local schools.
Davis Farm to School (DF2S) was founded more than 20-years ago by Pioneer Elementary teacher Dorothy Peterson in partnership with the Davis Farmers Market Alliance as a way to promote locally-sourced food in schools and support small farms. Over time, DF2S has grown to encompass every school in the Davis Joint Unified School District, as well as several private schools.
School gardens are at the core of DF2S’s mission, where students get their hands dirty learning about how food is grown, sustainable gardening practices, and the importance of local food systems. Some school sites have built gardens that aren’t just for edible plants; Da Vinci and Emerson Junior High Schools started a native garden, working closely with local experts to educate students about plants indigenous to our region.
DF2S also extends its curriculum beyond the gardens, incorporating food education into the classroom. Nate Tauzer, the Executive Director of DF2S, said students are more likely to eat healthy foods if they grow them themselves. Activities like microgreen kits, he said, allow teachers to engage students in growing their own food right in the classroom. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to reintroduce fresh, locally sourced foods into school meals, a goal that Tauzer said has faced challenges due to the logistical complexities of large-scale food distribution—especially during the pandemic. DF2S is pursuing other innovative approaches like bringing a mobile kitchen to schools that would allow for both harvesting and sampling of the food that students work hard to grow.
And since one of the best ways to learn about agriculture is to go and visit a farm, DF2S organizes a number of field trips, including one for third- and fourth-graders to Fiery Ginger Farm in West Sacramento, where students learn firsthand about different farming practices and the journey from farm to table. To cover the food journey that takes place after the table, DF2S has partnered with the Yolo County Landfill to host field trips focused on composting and capturing methane to reduce climate impacts.
