November 4, 2026
New Lebanon School kicked off its Farm-to-School Program with a very special milestone: this year’s first Harvest Day!
The Farm-to-School Program is one of the innovative initiatives supported through a Greenwich Alliance for Education Reaching Out Grant for the 2026–2027 school year. In partnership with the Greenwich Foodshed Network, the program gives students the opportunity to connect classroom learning with local agriculture, healthy food, and their own school community. Inspired by Connecticut’s Farm-to-School model, the program brings learning to life through the “three Cs” — the classroom, the community, and the cafeteria.
New Lebanon students harvested green beans they had grown in the school garden and transformed their crop into a day filled with hands-on exploration. Students measured and compared beans, investigated the differences between fresh and frozen green beans, opened pods to discover what was inside, and even conducted a taste test with different toppings. They finished by graphing the results, bringing together science, math, nutrition, and plenty of fun.
Harvest Day was a wonderful example of what Reaching Out Grants are designed to make possible: creative learning experiences that extend beyond the traditional classroom and give students new ways to explore, discover, and connect what they are learning to the world around them.
And this is only the beginning! New Lebanon’s Farm-to-School Program will continue throughout the school year, with Turnip Harvest Day planned for November.