Baltimore City Public Schools has a 33 acre farm. The purpose of the farm is to provide Baltimore City School students with the opportunity to participate in every aspect of food preparation from seed to fork, and to educate and prepare the next generation to be leaders of sustainability in the 21st century.
Though the farm has been a Baltimore City Schools property since the 1950's, the vision for using the farm as an educational center began in 2008. The farm currently has four full time employees: a farmer (Greg), a teacher (Beth), a custodian (Miss Lavinia), and a chef (that's me). I just started working there last month.
There's a building on the farm that houses a professional kitchen and a cafe area. I have a little office where I can look out and see beets growing in a small field, green houses full of microgreens, and some fig trees currently bursting with fruit. Behind the greenhouses I know there are tomatoes, corn, brussel sprouts, various berries, bees, and goats. In the far field are some carrots going about the quite business of rooting deep into the soil with their long orange bodies and their wild green leaves. I dream of building a fox-proof chicken coop for fresh eggs and soothing sounds of clucking hens.
And from the kitchen, there will be good things to eat. And stories to tell.
Some of them will be told here.
Stay tuned.
