YOUNGSTOWN — Fresh greens are growing at MLK Elementary School, and students are reaping the rewards.

The Youngstown City School District recently received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm-to-School grant to install 18 Flex Farms, which are provided by Fork Farms, a hydroponics equipment supplier in Wisconsin, across the district, and students hosted their first harvest of fresh greens Monday.

The project at MLK Elementary is between STEAM coordinators and the district’s food services department as students have been learning about agriculture, science, nutrition and sustainability. Now they can consume fresh greens they have been growing for the past month.

A Flex Farm is a mobile hydroponic farm that can grow lettuce, greens, herbs and other foods on-site. One Flex Farm can produce 25 pounds or more of greens in less than one month and it requires zero food miles and creates no waste. It also provides 45 times more food production and uses 98% less water and land. Growing hydroponically also serves as a powerful educational tool in classrooms. It combines hands-on experimentation, interdisciplinary learning and technology. It also provides students the opportunity to learn engagement, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Youngstown schools currently have 21 Flex Farms in the district, the largest school-based hydroponic farm program in Ohio. The district will place Flex Farms in each elementary school and high school to ensure every student has access to fresh food and the ability to learn and watch greens grow throughout the year. YCSD also will add five Flex Farms in the district’s central kitchen to grow fresh greens for school lunches for all the students.

YCSD isn’t the only local school district that has utilized Flex Farms as Boardman and West Branch also have implemented three Flex Farms apiece.

Boardman’s program is a collaboration between food service and two district schools. At the same time, West Branch, another USDA Farm-to-School grant honoree, has its agriculture and food science students maintaining the three Flex Farms in the high school cafeteria.