A TRIAL under way at Orange High School will bring more fresh produce into the kitchen.
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The school is one of just two in NSW to participate in the Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden program, which encourages students to plant and grow food before preparing and sharing it.
The idea also ran in Victoria in 2018.
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Program co-ordinator Mel Campbell said the agriculture and food technology were mandatory for years 7 and 8 and they would be run in tandem.
Ms Campbell will run the garden side of the operation while Tammy Nash will run the cooking side.
The school has long boasted a vegetable garden, known as the "ag patch", but Ms Campbell said its position at the rear of the school was not practical for food technology students, but the new garden was right outside the classroom.
"The idea is they learn where food comes from - a lot of our students already know that in a sense, but to be able to go and cook with high-quality stuff, it gives all the kids access to that," she said.
The garden currently boasts cucumbers, radishes, chillies, tomatoes, green beans and herbs.
"The idea is students come out of the kitchen if they need produce and they can pick their produce," Ms Campbell said.
"That's really what makes it work.
"It's the first time we've done chillies but because it's been so hot and reasonably dry, they've done really well."
She said the garden was being brought out of holiday mode into working garden mode, with lettuce and spinach still to be planted ahead of winter classes.
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