Farm To Dining Hall Table

At this island school, students have a hands-on approach to eating local.

- By Susan Hunnicutt

Don’t be too hard on that droopy slice of tomato on your sandwich. It’s had a long trip. And, if your carrot sticks have lost their crunch, give ’em a break. They’ve likely traveled around 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to your lunch plate. The lettuce in your dinner salad may have had an even longer journey . . . more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km)! Our food tends to be less tasty and less healthy when it travels long distances. What’s more, the vehicles that move it contribute to a warming climate. But a group of high school students in the Bahamas can show us a delicious way to reduce food miles.

A Different Kind of Classroom

No internet, no cell phones, no grades. At the Cape Eleuthera Island School on the small Bahamian island of Eleuthera, environmental sustainability is a way of life. High school sophomores and juniors from around the world spend a semester learning without classroom walls. The campus, the ocean, and local towns are the schoolyard. The study program asks how to live well in a place. Sustainability is part of the daily lesson plan. And going green starts with breakfast.

Students, teachers, and visiting researchers share meals in the open-air dining hall. At the Island School, food travels just steps from the gardens to the plates. Eggs at breakfast are still warm from the hen house, the daily salad bar overflows with just-picked leafy green lettuce and every bite into a ripe, juicy mango is reason to smile. Pork chops and pulled pork sandwiches are served in the days following the pig harvest, and grilled tilapia raised in the aquaponic garden is a favorite.