In celebration of Earth Day, April 22, Atlanta Public Schools will serve chicken with pasta and green beans seasoned with district grown garden herbs in all APS cafeterias. The fresh rosemary and basil harvested to prepare these menu items were grown inside the Benjamin E. Mays High School aquaponics and hydroponics greenhouse system.
 
Mays High School is the only school in the district with a greenhouse that uses aquaponics and hydroponics to grow year-round herbs and vegetables. The Mays Greenhouse, operated by Ray Williams of Mirror Image Mentoring, was selected as the flagship program for the District Grown Gardens initiative and is funded by Sodexo-Jackmont Corporation.  Students from the Mays High School Urban Agriculture Club, Williams, and Mays High School Advanced Placement Biology and Environmental Science instructor, Tamiko Gray, maintain the greenhouse and school garden. She uses the greenhouse as a living classroom and integrates gardening into her curriculum.
 
The District Grown Gardens initiative focuses on increasing student’s consumption of fruits and vegetables while making the connection between school garden produce and foods served in the cafeteria. A collaboration between the APS Nutrition Department, Captain Planet Foundation and Sodexo-Jackmont, the program is being piloted at select Beecher Hills Elementary, King Middle, Maynard Holbrook Jackson High and Mays High. APS Student Wellness Ambassadors will host garden tours at Long Middle And hydroponic displays at Mays High School. Additionally, fresh harvest herbs and vegetables will be featured in cooking demonstrations at select schools.