Fork Farms Launches New School Growing Guide to Help Districts Bring Fresh Food, STEM, and Student Engagement Together

New Implementation Guide Provides Schools With a Roadmap for Growing Fresh Food On Campus While Supporting Nutrition, Hands-On Learning and Sustainability

GREEN BAY, WI, UNITED STATES, August 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As students return to classrooms this fall, school nutrition professionals are facing a familiar challenge: how to serve fresh, healthy meals while managing rising food costs, supply chain disruptions, inconsistent produce quality, limited budgets, and increasing expectations for scratch cooking.

Fork Farms, a food access technology company, is helping schools meet those challenges by bringing food production directly into the school building.

Just in time for the start of the new school year, Fork Farms has announced the release of How to Grow Food at School: A Practical Guide for School Administrators, Teachers, and Nutrition Directors, a comprehensive implementation guide designed to help schools launch and sustain indoor hydroponic growing programs that support both school nutrition and classroom learning.

"Schools shouldn't have to choose between serving fresh food and staying within budget," said Alex Tyink, CEO of Fork Farms. "When schools grow food on-site, they're not only producing fresh lettuce, they're creating opportunities for students to connect with where food comes from, supporting healthier meals, and turning classrooms into living laboratories."

Across the country, schools are using Fork Farms' indoor hydroponic growing systems, Flex Farm™ units, to produce fresh leafy greens, herbs, and vegetables just steps from where students learn, gather and eat. The result is a reliable, year-round source of fresh produce, and meaningful opportunities for STEM education, food literacy, sustainability, and student engagement.

At Elmbrook Schools in Wisconsin, fresh greens grown on-site are harvested and incorporated into school salad bars, giving students the opportunity to enjoy produce grown in their own district. At Germantown High School, indoor hydroponic farming has helped replace shipped lettuce with fresh, school-grown greens, reducing dependence on traditional supply chains while increasing access to nutritious food.

With a Flex Farm, schools can:
- Harvest fresh greens minutes before eating it on the cafeteria line
- Grow more than 394 pounds of produce annually in less than 10 square feet
- Provide students with hands-on STEM learning aligned with classroom curriculum
- Build food literacy by allowing students to grow, harvest, and eat the food they produce
- Create a dependable, year-round source of fresh produce for school meal programs.

Fork Farms’ new school implementation guide was created to remove the guesswork from starting a school growing program. It walks administrators, teachers, and nutrition teams through every stage of implementation, from setting goals and identifying the right space to engaging students, integrating fresh produce into school meals, and expanding programs over time.

In addition to the guide, every Fork Farms partner receives:
- Step-by-step implementation support
- A comprehensive K–12 curriculum aligned with Next Generation Science Standards
- Access to Farmative™, Fork Farms' online community of nearly 5,000 growers
- Food safety resources and operational guidance
- Ongoing support from the Fork Farms team.

Growing food at school is also changing how students think about healthy eating. Studies show that when students participate in planting, harvesting, and serving fresh produce, they become more connected to the food on their plates and more willing to try fresh fruits and vegetables.

“A Flex Farm is a way to bring nutrition, education, sustainability, and student engagement together in one place," Tyink added. "As schools begin another year, Fork Farms is excited to help more districts create healthier meals and healthier communities by growing food where students learn."

To learn more about bringing indoor hydroponic farming to your school, visit www.forkfarms.com.

About Fork Farms
Fork Farms is a food access technology company helping build the future of fresh food infrastructure. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Fork Farms develops indoor hydroponic farming technology and digital tools that enable schools, healthcare systems, businesses, and communities to grow fresh, nutritious food year-round in almost any environment. Its solutions help organizations expand food access, support wellness, and strengthen local food resilience by bringing food production closer to where people live, learn, work, and heal. For the third consecutive year, Fork Farms was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies and ranked #1 in the Agriculture and Natural Resources sector.

Krista Koranda
Fork Farms
+1 303-596-1220
krista@forkfarms.com
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