The Encinitas Union School District's Farm Lab and Nutrition Program have teamed up to bring healthier fare to its students. The District has been successfully operating its Farm to School program since 2013 and secured its organic certification in 2016, making it the first certified organic school district in the country to grow for its own lunch program!

The Farm to School Program harvested 5000 pounds of produce and enough lettuce each week to supply all nine daily salad bars in the District throughout the school year, and enough tomatoes to roast and freeze as pizza and marinara sauce for all nine schools for the entire school year.

The Farm Lab builds upon the successes of past Farm to School approaches through its onsite school location and full integration of DREAMS, an educational approach that incorporates design, research, engineering, art, math, and science into standards based, hands-on lessons -- furthering each student’s ability to build healthy habits through learning, exploration and activities.