A High School in Richmond, California has been offering a unique Urban Agriculture class.  The Food Systems class is strong on experiential learning.  The students learn organic gardening techniques by getting their hands in the dirt - planting, harvesting, and boxing produce for local families to use.  Students also study public health, nutrition, local policy, food distribution and marketing, agriculture, and ecology, according to a post on the website of the sponsoring organization, Urban Tilth.

Richmond is not an affluent area.  It is a semi-industrial area just north of Berkeley with a strong minority population.  The schools were just coming out of state receivership when I left the Bay Area five years ago.  Here's a student-produced YouTube showing recent class activities.

However, the program at the High School is just one of many food-related programs that Urban Tilth is co-sponsoring in Richmond.  They work with individuals and other organizations in the 5% Local Coalition to develop the capacity of west Contra Costa County to grow 5% of their own food supply.  Under the rubric of the Richmond Foodshed Collaborative, they are working with a number of organizations to provide replicable models of municipal orchards, berry patches, and school and community gardens.

Here's what they say about their very ambitious goal:  "Our collaborative is important because we propose something which (a) does not yet exist in any California community, and (2) will radically alter the way our community engages with public lands. Throughout California there exist numerous exemplary projects which engage teens in urban agriculture to address serious food-related health and social justice issues facing our youth. However, not since the World War II Victory Garden movement, has any community engaged in urban agriculture at a scale which significantly impacts the food supply or health outcomes at a community level. No urban communities in California produce even 1% of their own food supply. We believe that by taking a systematic, community-wide approach to foodshed development and empowering teens to lead this effort, Richmond will become the most food self-sufficient urban community in California and the nation."