Feeding the Future

The Odyssey Charter School Food Studies CTE pathway teaches students about sustainable farming

BY BY REGINA DONATO

EARTH’S POPULATION IS EXPECTED to surpass 9 billion people by 2050. This means agriculturally, 59-98% more food needs to be produced to meet the demand. Increasing technology to ensure that food production can be more efficient and innovative is not just a want, but a need. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), especially vertical farming, is one solution that can be utilized to feed increasing populations in an efficient way, both in Delaware and beyond.

In 2019, Melissa Tracy, an agriscience and social studies teacher at Odyssey Charter School, took her awareness of this need and made a first-of-its-kind leap for a Delaware school—offer a Food Studies Career and Technical Pathway (CTE) to students. The pathway has several objectives for students:

• To develop a broad understanding of the food and agricultural industry in Delaware.

• To prepare for a wide range of careers in advocacy, policy, technology, agriculture, public health, sustainability, food systems, nutrition, public relations, and culinary arts.

• To study innovative coursework that of social, personal, ethical, environmental, and global significance.

• To earn community service hours by volunteering.

The program consists of several classroom courses: Food Studies: Culture and Environment and Food Studies: History and Power, plus the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the Hydroponic Learning Lab. “We take a multi-faceted approach by exposure to writing about food, agriculture, and environmental sustainability; cooking labs that help students learn the preparation and tasting of food; and interactions with industry experts through field trips to local businesses, institutions, and farms,” said Tracy.

In the 2023-2024 academic school year, the program will expand to include several additional pathway courses, including a work-based learning internship; new courses called Principles of Agricultural Science-Plants and Food Studies: Future of Food; and a combined six credit Delaware Technical Community College course—Principles of Plant Growth and Hydroponics Production. Students who will complete all six courses in the pathway can potentially earn nine college credits from Delaware Tech.

Outside of the traditional classroom setting, the Hydroponic Learning Lab—a renovated 800 square-foot classroom—is used by students to apply the methods they have learned in the classroom by growing a variety of vegetables hydroponically. This student-run lab can grow leafy greens, microgreens, tomatoes, capsicums, herbs, and cucumbers.

“Because of its ability to produce exponentially higher yields while using no soil and very little land, vertical farming can help food supply chains become more localized. It is estimated that vertically grown crops utilize 90% less water and 10% of the total land use than field grown crops,” explained Tracy. “These systems can also be placed in urban areas not suitable for traditional agriculture, bringing food production closer to consumers and making use of already existing space.”

Odyssey Charter School students harvest and donate at least 3,000 pounds of produce to the surrounding community via food kitchens and food banks each year. Additionally, students create “culturally relevant” food kits featuring their hydroponically grown produce to donate to communities in need. The meal kit is an easy one-pot recipe and cooking demo that includes all the ingredients to cook a healthy dinner, while considering cultural and dietary food restrictions. Seven thousand meal kits have been donated by the school since 2019.

The pathway has been a huge success within the school so far. Since its inception, 300 students have taken at least one course in the pathway. Annually, the program houses at least 150 students in ninth to twelfth grade, or approximately one-third of the school’s total population.

“I joined this club last year and it was probably the best time I’ve spent doing volunteer work,” shared a participating student. “Every day that I worked in the lab or the garden, I knew I was making a personal impact on my community—the people I see in Wilmington struggling to get by every day.”

The Food Studies Pathway helps feed the broader community, encourages behaviors that have a positive environmental impact, and helps foster the future workforce of one of Delaware’s largest industries. For all of this, the program is a 2023 Superstars in Education & Training winner. “Being a recipient of the Superstars in Education Award is a wonderful honor for the Odyssey Charter School Community,” said Tracy. “We are incredibly proud to be recognized for our innovative and interdisciplinary Food Studies Pathway. We hope to serve as a model for other schools in Delaware.”