The latest addition to the Ayer Shirley High School cafeteria isn't a tasty new dish, it's a hydroponic grower with multiple heads of lettuce inside, all earmarked for the school's lunch menu. So, in a way, it amounts to the same thing.
The hydro-grower, parked by the cafeteria kitchen, showcases a Civics project launched in Matt Lyon's History class earlier this year. Students recently showcased the project, dubbed Vertical Veggies, to display some work in progress.
The hydro-grower was the first stop on a show-and-tell tour. Viewed from afar, the tall white structure suggested a storage module, or maybe an open-air fridge? Turns out, the facade houses an upright garden. Inside the shallow unit, suffused with white light, bright green lettuce grew in vertical rows, each head popping out from its own small pocket. Minimal tending is required. And no soil.
This batch of lettuces — a hybrid mix of "spicy" green leaf and iceberg — was nearly ready to pick and take to the kitchen, a few feet away. Dianne Jones, the school's head of food services, said she'll use it to create green salads.
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