Student Ambassador Tours Vertical Farming Facility

Ambassador Team Launch

This year Americorp service member, Hailey Neuburger co-created the School Food Project’s Ambassador Program, along with BVSD middle and high school students. Through connecting with the BVSD Green Youth Council, she met students who care about sustainability, climate action, and the district’s environmental footprint. Their perspective, along with every other student voice districtwide, is essential to our mission — because the way students eat every day is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to reduce waste, support the local economy, nurture the land you are on and build healthier communities.

Ambassadors will work with the School Food Project team to design campaigns, create outreach materials, deep dive into informal research & lead student-driven initiatives that support a healthier and more sustainable lunch culture. 

Passion Project: Hydroponic Farm Tour 

As a student-led collective, members chose to individually take on a passion project that connects school food to sustainability. One of the ambassadors Jude Schryver, a Broomfield High junior, was curious about where the lettuce comes from on the salad bar in the lunchrooms- as he thinks “it's delicious and fresh”. 

The School Food Project, along with the team over at What Chefs Want, were able to set up a tour with 80 acres farm, a hydroponic farm based in Denver, where the lettuce is sourced from. Kalera uses vertical, hydroponic systems to grow pesticide-free, non-GMO leafy greens. Jude had the opportunity to meet with Max, the grow supervisor and Jordan, the farm manager. This farm is just one of the many examples of how the SFP invests their dollar into the local community, amplifying initiatives such as this one. 

Jude’s interview questions that left us feeling inspired:

What do you hope students will take away from learning about where their food comes from?

• “This is the future of feeding people that don't have access to fresh produce around the world. I hope that students will take away a sense of optimism- this pushes the boundaries of what we can accomplish as humans. Mother nature can be unpredictable and as we've seen this year, we haven't had much of a winter. Here, there is a controlled environment, where we can control our inputs like water, light, and temperature.”

What is the largest difference in terms of sustainability between traditional farming vs hydroponics?

• “The water and land usage. We have about a one acre building where we can grow around 10 acres worth of produce! The system produces 22 separate harvests a year, while most traditional farms produce 1. We also recycle about 95% of our water.”