November 2009

Forbidden fruit

County school system prohibits vegetable gardens

photo by Eric Bond

Such a troublemaker, that Michelle Obama. Did you see her helping schoolchildren push a wheelbarrow full of sweet potatoes? Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), our school system, doesn’t want your kids to get any big ideas from glimpsing that disturbing image, because MCPS prohibits growing fruits and vegetables in school gardens.

This fall, MCPS posted a new page on their website, setting out the process for growing a school garden and suggesting four garden templates with specific lists of approved plants. Garden designs must be submitted to the school system for approval. The new school garden initiative provides encouragement to plant gardens, provides ways to tie the garden to the curriculum, and provides advice and resources on how to plant the garden, fund it, and make sure it does not go to seed and weed, or get mown down over the summer. The initiative was developed in partnership with Audubon’s GreenKids program, and Montgomery County Master Gardeners.

But fruits and vegetables aren’t mentioned anywhere on the website. And when schools submit their plans, they are told that no edible plants are allowed in school gardens. Apparently the prohibition is in an MCPS Safety Handbook which is not available online. Sean Gallagher, Assistant Director of Facilities Management at MCPS explains: “Fruits and vegetables are a natural food source for pests, including rodents, and we are restricted from using any type of pesticide to keep rodents away until we’ve removed all food sources, so there’s a problem with putting food sources on school grounds.” Gallagher cited rabbits, snakes, groundhogs, mice and rats as rodents that might show up in gardens And he explains, “It’s actually illegal in Maryland to trap a raccoon or squirrel and release it elsewhere because you may be spreading diseases to another part of the county.” Gallagher also cited student allergies to the fruits and vegetables as a potential problem. In meetings, other MCPS staff members have also mentioned fear of insect stings, fear of toxins in the soil, fear that fruit creates a mess, and fear that school communities leave in June and abandon summer crops to rot.

County Councilmember Valerie Ervin, who has been busy creating new community gardens, happens to also be Chair of the Council’s Education Committee. When informed of the school ban on vegetable gardens, she said she would immediately call for a Committee briefing to explore the situation. “We need to re-teach children and families how to have a healthier lifestyle, and fresh produce clearly plays a role in that,” says Ervin. She points out that none of the issues with vegetable gardens cited by MCPS have caused problems in the community gardens.

“In other school districts, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that kids have eating food they have grown is amazing,” says local produce advocate State Senator Jamie Raskin, a law professor. “If we can figure out the insurance necessary to send kids into tackle football games, I imagine we can figure out the insurance for growing cucumbers.”

Some in the gardening community are outraged by the ban. “It’s hard to imagine a more backward policy in the school system at a time in history when school systems all over the country are understanding the desirability of gardens for teaching kids where food comes from,” says Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens. Clark recently went on a bicycle tour of gardens at DC public schools. “The comparison is amazing,” he says. “For a school district that has as many problems as DC, and far less land than Montgomery County, they seem to have developed a way to encourage school vegetable gardens.”

Parents who have worked on school gardens for years appreciate the way the new policy encourages families and school staff to work together to ensure that gardens are maintained, even in summer. But some are also frustrated by the vegetable prohibition. “All of their objections could be easily dealt with, without draconian bans based in ignorance,” says parent and environmentalist Kathleen Michels. “This is an extreme application of the precautionary principal.” For instance, she points out that master gardeners and government agencies routinely recommend soil testing for toxins before planting any garden, and will provide this service.

Some parents say they would be satisfied with a limited list of approved vegetables and fruits, perhaps emphasizing spring and fall crops rather than summer fruits. Others are not tempted by this compromise. “The idea that there’s some aspect of growing food that is so dangerous that we shouldn’t let children do it is part and parcel of the whole problem,” says Clark. He also objects to the idea of limiting school gardens to spring and fall crops. Instead he would like to see partnerships to involve the community in gardening over the summer. “You have to make a commitment that involves the summer and involves the community. No school garden will succeed if it doesn’t have the full support of the community outside the school.”