Families feast on food grown at Southside Elementary

Southside Elementary School students served a memorable dinner to some lucky guests at the annual Farm to Fork Family Feast.

The dinner, held at The Francis in downtown Sarasota on Jan. 25, featured cuisine made from food harvested from the school’s garden. Students tended to the tomatoes, kale, bok choy, lettuce, eggplant, broccoli, strawberries, peppers, cabbage, carrots and basil — more than 54 pounds of it.

After the food was harvested on Jan. 23, it was taken to The Francis and cooked into delectable bites, such as broccoli pesto flatbread, kale caesar salad, jumbo eggplant ravioli and strawberry orange gelee.

“It’s like an outdoor laboratory,” Southside Elementary Principal Steven Dragon said about the garden, “where you experience the real-world application of what you learn in the classroom — especially in math and science.”

The students who worked to cultivate the food also worked at the event, serving hungry guests and clearing tables when they were finished eating.

Proceeds from the event went to the school’s garden program.