Leo A. Palmiter Jr./Sr. High School, a Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) campus for students with educational challenges, is the recipient of a generous donation from the Teichert Foundation. The $500 donation will be used for Palmiter's Urban Oasis Project in which horticulture students learn to build and maintain food gardens in under-served communities.
Palmiter—and neighboring Elinor Lincoln Hickey Jr./Sr. High School, also operated by SCOE—are home to extensive landscaping projects, as well as an organic orchard and vegetable garden.
SCOE has developed a Sustainable Environments Learning Academy which promotes food literacy, builds vital career skills, and offers students a cross-curricular learning opportunity combining many subjects (science, math, reading, nutrition, and business).
"Students involved in our horticulture program are proud to work with their hands and see the results of their efforts beautify our campus, and feed people. They experience a genuine sense of satisfaction," said Palmiter Principal Lauren Roth.
The Palmiter campus is also home to the Culinary Café. Serving lunch to the public most Thursdays from November through May, the culinary program includes students from both Palmiter and Hickey. Students are focused on the regional "Farm-To-Fork" movement as a component of the Sustainable Environments Learning Academy. Produce grown by students is now included in many Café dishes and is offered for sale (when available) at the school's weekly Farmers Market. Over the past four years, students have raised more than $5,000 from their sale of plants and produce.