Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

4/09/08
Story by Peggy Graham

JCCC Unveils Edible Schoolyard

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Little hands will sow big ideas about good nutrition when they plant an edible schoolyard at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 8, at the Hiersteiner Child Development Center at Johnson County Community College.

Gardeners, ages 1-6, will plant tomatoes, sugar snap peas and melons in a hoophouse, an unheated greenhouse, as a way to harvest healthy attitudes toward food choices and local, sustainable agriculture.

“Research in the Berkeley, Calif., Unified School District indicates that when children see where foods grow and help to plant and care for them, they are more likely to eat them,” said Sara McElhenny, program director, HCDC.

Lindy Robinson, assistant dean, design and hospitality management, and David A. Smith, associate professor, hospitality management, researched the Chez Panisse Foundation’s school lunch initiative, a district-wide effort in Berkeley, Calif., to create healthier meals, and then developed the JCCC edible schoolyard in order to yield produce for use in HCDC’s school lunches.

“Culinary programs are obligated to be involved in the Slow Food movement because we can make a difference in the eating habits of young people, habits that stay with them for life,” Robinson said.

Smith says it will be a three-season garden with children planting crops like broccoli and cabbage in the fall. The hoophouse (also called a high tunnel) is a low-cost greenhouse with UV plastic covering to extend the growing season. In addition to the learning potential for children, Smith says he hopes they have fun getting in the dirt, watching plants grow and helping with the harvest.

The planting of the edible schoolyard is the formal kickoff to the Wysong Challenge, a set of initiatives to distinguish JCCC’s culinary program at national and global levels. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is scheduled to attend.

Because JCCC’s well-known hospitality management program has the ability to provide leadership in sustainable agriculture, healthy eating and training for the growing number of professionals needed in the hospitality and food industry, Kansas Sen. David Wysong is announcing a $750,000 challenge gift to help raise $1.5 million in support of the JCCC program. David and his wife, Kathy, Mission Hills, have agreed to match donation gifts dollar for dollar through the Wysong Family Foundation.

With the support of the Wysong Challenge, the JCCC hospitality management program will support five initiatives.

• The Master Chef Guest Lecture Series 
  This series introduces the trade secrets of renowned chefs to the community and JCCC culinary students. Kevin Rathbun, owner of the acclaimed Kevin Rathbun Steak and Krog Bar, Atlanta, entertained and informed as the first chef in the series in January, teaching a master cooking class and helping students prepare a four-course dinner fund-raiser for culinary scholarships. The Master Chef Series will continue annually in March and October.
  
  
• Continuing Education Culinary Courses for the Community
  Using the expertise of faculty, graduates and leading industry chefs, the hospitality management program will meet the popular demand for culinary classes. Classes will include demonstrations, recipes and sample tastings offered in JCCC’s professional kitchens.
  
  
• Television series – Cooking with Class 
  This new television series showcases chefs ­­– JCCC graduates, faculty and supervising chefs for JCCC student apprentices – demonstrating techniques that gourmet cooks can use at home. Cooking with Class airs on Time Warner, Comcast and Everest cable stations. Demonstrations and recipes can also be found at http://video.jccc.edu.
  
  
• JCCC Culinary Team – a High-Profile Asset
  JCCC’s culinary team is the only culinary team to win first place three times at National American Culinary Federation Championships. Extra monies will allow the accomplished team to compete in international competitions, such as the prestigious FHA (Food and Hotel Asia) Culinary Challenge held every two years in Singapore.
  
  
• Health Through Food 
  As an academic institution, JCCC’s hospitality management program is committed to teaching, advocating and implementing the Slow Food Movement, a movement which encourages people to eat food that is grown locally, in an environmental friendly manner; prepare food in a tasty, healthful way; and enjoy food in a relaxed manner that emphasizes the pleasures and traditions of food.
  
  – The edible schoolyard is the first step in this initiative. The college and HCDC will serve as a model for partnerships between culinary programs and pre-K to high schools working together toward healthier school lunches. 
  
  – Another component of the “Health Through Food” initiative is a partnership between JCCC and Kansas State University that will result in a sustainable agriculture (market farming) entrepreneurship certificate program, pending Kansas Board of Regents approval. The program, which has already received a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will train new growers and improve the skills of existing growers in agriculture, as well as business, in order to expand the availability of locally grown food. 

The public is welcome to attend the opening of the edible schoolyard. Following the planting of the schoolyard, invited guests (including Sebelius) may attend a lunch prepared by JCCC culinary students featuring their menu for the FHA Culinary Challenge, Singapore, and hear Wysong announce programs launched by his initiative.

For more information, call the JCCC Foundation at (913) 469-3835 or e-mail to foundation.dept@jccc.edu.