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New farm-to-school coordinator outlines expansion, greenhouses and summer youth jobs
Summary
Tess Frolley, the district's new farm-to-school coordinator, described grants, greenhouse capacity at three schools, culinary-class pilots with Gannon students and a proposed summer partnership with Groundwork Erie to maintain school gardens and deliver produce to students and families.
Tess Frolley, the Erie City SD farm-to-school project coordinator, told the board on May 13 that the program is expanding through local partnerships and recent grant funding.
Frolley reported a PA Department of Agriculture grant supported hiring Gannon nutrition students to develop culinary classes at middle and high school levels and that the district now operates three greenhouses at Wilson, Strong Vincent and Erie High. She described a pilot that purchased local produce for school festivals, culinary lessons developed with student help and plans for seed-to-market camps and field trips to connect garden work with community agriculture.
Frolley said Groundwork Erie — a local nonprofit that employs youth for neighborhood landscaping and urban farming — is proposed as a summer partner to mentor three youth workers who would help maintain school garden sites when school is not in session. She said the program directs produce to students and local partners, and is exploring proposals to scale experiential pathways from pre-K through grade 12 (agriculinary pathway) in coordination with local markets.
Frolley noted the district is now the only Pennsylvania school district with a full‑time farm‑to‑school coordinator, and she asked board members for community connections, funding help and opportunities to scale the program. The presentation included operational details (greenhouse locations, 200 tomato and pepper seedlings for CTE students) and next steps for funding and partner development.
