The Larchmont Schools' Edible Schoolyard

The Edible Schoolyard at Larchmont Charter Schools

Los Angeles, California

Founded in 2009 as an Edible Schoolyard Affiliate

The mission of Larchmont Charter School, is to provide a socio-economically, culturally and racially diverse community of students with an exceptional public education. We foster creativity and academic excellence; our students learn with and from each other in an experience-centered, inquiry-based learning environment. With participation from our entire community, we strive to instill in each student a dedication to improving the world we inhabit. 

As a Founding Edible Schoolyard, our students experience garden and kitchen lessons which integrate ecological concepts with real-life applications. Driven by the California State Standards, our garden and kitchen projects also connect learning in the areas of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Physical Education. Visitors to our schools see garden and food related vocabulary, art, and history projects prominently displayed in classrooms and in hallways, which visually demonstrate our focus and commitment on teaching cross-curricular concepts.

Our school lunch is made on site from scratch using local produce and sustainable products. Our goal is to make a wide variety of delicious, nourishing foods that the kids enjoy, with minimal impact on our environment. We believe the lunchroom is a place where learning happens. Taste is learned and needs to be practiced! Furthermore, students’ awareness of the benefits of eating locally grown, organic food furthers their awareness of food choices and their impact on the planet as a whole. 

At Larchmont Charter Schools, the Edible Schoolyard is an invaluable tool in helping us to achieve our mission of providing an exceptional public education to a diverse community through a project-based, constructivist approach to teaching and learning.