Parlier Unified receives CDFA grant to support farm-to-fork initiatives

PARLIER, Calif. (KFSN) -- A multi-million dollar grant is funding school districts across the state to support a farm-to-fork initiative.

Parlier Unified is one of nearly 200 recipients awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Clemente Molina stays busy working on the Parlier High School farm.

But he hasn't always enjoyed agriculture.

"At first, I didn't really like it because I always worked in the fields and I never really liked the fields. It was always hot, I always got dirty," Molina said.

Now, he's found a new passion in nursery landscape and competition.

Last year, he and his team placed third in the state.

His interest in ag has been supported through the work he's done on the farm.

He helped trench and install irrigation for the fruit trees.

"We actually have a lot more fruit trees than we used to have," Molina said.

Ag teacher Jason Clawson says the irrigation supplies, trees and a new tractor were purchased through a $150,000 grant Parlier Unified was awarded last year.

It's through the California Department of Food and Ag "Farm to School Incubator Grant Program".

"Prior to this, we didn't have a functioning tractor with the equipment that we could use to do farming fruit trees and production," Clawson said.

The district applied for the grant again this year and was awarded another $200,000.

The money will be used to transform the Parlier High School Farm into a demonstration farm, showing students they can "grow" on their own.

"We teach them that we can take the aspects home with them, whether it's growing fruit trees or working with lettuces or tomatoes and things like that that they can do in their backyard," Clawson said.

The money will also support garden beds for the elementary school and a greenhouse for the middle school.

Parlier Middle School Ag teacher Samantha Wagner says it will get students out of the classroom to apply skills they've learned.

"Our kids are getting the hands-on experience that they don't get in a science class, a math class, or an English class but we're incorporating all those skills into our classes," Wagner said.

The fruit the students grow will eventually be served in the cafeteria.

The money will also support a learning kitchen where students will use the produce they grew to cook.

Bilingual parent cooking workshops will aim to transform traditional meals into healthier versions.

Representatives with the CDFA say these types of projects and goals are exactly what they want to support.

"They have this vision, they have these goals set in place and this funding while perhaps small can help them build up that dream," CDFA Regional Network lead 'Farm to School Program' Jane Alvarado-Banister said.

The district plans to apply for the grant annual to continue to make improvements and provide experiences for the students.

One day they hope to sell the produce they grow in a farmer's market for the community.

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