Indy charter school combats food insecurity by teaching students urban farming

INDIANAPOLIS — Pulling up to Allegiant Prep Academy on Indy's west side you see a traditional charter school.

Little voices can be heard, laughter and teachers at work. Just a few of the sights and sounds you see.

But just to the left of the school building, you see something a bit innovative.

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The entire side courtyard is dedicated to growing food.

It's the brain child of Allegiant Prep Academy's art teacher, Kristin Duckett.

Allegiant Prep Academy is hoping they can fill a void in the Haughville neighborhood to teach kids about regenerative urban farming.

Providing food to children living in food deserts is the main mission behind the program at the Indianapolis elementary school.

Regenerative literally means to regrow or renew something that's been damaged or lost. That's exactly what they're doing at the school.

Teaching kids how to grow their own food in an urban setting, to better equip them for the future.

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"Last time I saw them they were just little seeds and now they are big," Da'Marie Guest, a 2nd grader at Allegiant Prep, said.

The students are learning the key tools in a regenerative urban farming course at school.

"We have buckets and we're using Dixie cups over here to use our starters," Duckett said.

It's all about re-purposing what some might view as trash and breathing new life into them.

The Regenerative Urban Farming curriculum was created by Stebo Ma'at and Duckett. The pair works around Indianapolis to educate the community on growing food for their neighborhoods.

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"There are more and more areas that are being shut off to fresh food, the stores are closing. Even the dollar stores that had some few access to fresh foods are closing as well. We want our children to know that they can take their power back and they can take control over their food by growing their own food," Duckett said.

Duckett uniquely formulated the curriculum to help young kids understand it. The students are called Regenerative Urban Farmers In Training (RUF-ITS).

The idea is to plant the seeds of education beyond the classroom for the elementary kids with the main goal of showing them life skills they can take home.

"It's helped us learn so much to help us grow our brains," student Robert Baily Jr. said.

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Duckett says stores closing is the reality many of the students face. The school is in a food desert.

She wants to teach students the skills they need to grow their own food in an urban setting.

Duckett is teaching the students to grow food by recycling containers, using things like 5-gallon buckets, Dixie cups, and metal trays.

"Growing food is a lifestyle, you're reusing things that you normally would have thrown away. For example, we are starting our collards in Dixie cups. This is something people would've normally thrown away," Duckett said.

A key part of the education is sharing the importance of opportunity growing food can do.

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"You can grow using any materials, any location, you just really have to have the determination and the will to want to grow. Where there's a will, there's a way," Duckett said.

The students have certainly made their conclusions about regenerative urban farming.

"It makes me feel happy because nature is about planting the new things," one student said.

"I think it's taking care of the world," another student said.

Their program is backed by the USDA and SARE.

All of the kids who complete the course will receive a certificate. In order to become certified, scholars complete seven modules ranging from topics like soil and water ecology to managing a garden space in natural ways.

Upon successful completion of the quizzes and a final demonstration of knowledge, students receive their certificates.

The purpose of the programs are to increase knowledge and awareness about growing food in a regenerative way that not only revitalizes natural resources like soil and water, but increases their access to live, naturally grown foods.

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Scholars will be able to take the education they receive and grow their own regenerative garden spaces or further their education to become a regenerative urban farmer.

The innovative program is increasing food access, environmental awareness, awareness of agro-economic opportunities, as well as increasing mental and physical health through access to nutrient rich, live, naturally grown food.