CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- From farm, to table to desk, a new initiative is teaching southern Indiana students how to grow and cook their own food. 

Students at Charlestown High School are getting their hands dirty growing produce to turn into healthy meals. The school's culinary classroom and new café is being given "a commercial refrigerator, commercial sink, cooking necessities, tables, chairs and more," thanks to a partnership between the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and Niagara Cares, the charitable division of Niagara Bottling, according to a spokesperson for Greater Clark County Schools. 

Produce seeds and a fruit tree were also provided to the classroom by Grant Line Garden Center and Nursery. 

"The theme of these projects is we go around the country's healthy lifestyles," Scott Swinson, senior director of development with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, said. "For us, that means fitness and nutrition. When working with the school, they said 'Where we're really finding a need is in the Culinary Arts Department and the Agricultural Department, where we don't have an urban garden. We don't have something on-site that can help the kids learn about planting and caring for plants and then also taking those full circle, getting them into the Culinary Arts Department and preparing meals with them."

Volunteers with the foundation and employees volunteering from Niagara Bottling's local plant joined district leaders Tuesday in putting the finishing touches on the café, setting everything up in the classroom and building raised garden beds and a greenhouse outdoors before planting the first seeds. The work will continue and be completed on Wednesday, Sept. 28, when students will make and serve meals to the volunteers as a way to thank them. 

"What'll happen is we'll just kind of rotate our vegetables and fruits by the season," said Erin Cassidy, a culinary arts teacher. "Biology students are gonna be over here growing the food, and then we will be taking the food and preparing it." 

Students said they are excited about having something not every school has.

"Not every school has the opportunity that we have to, you know, grow our own food and take it from the garden to the kitchen and out to the people," senior Mikayla Shepard said.

"I think it's a great learning experience," senior Liam Sanders added. "It offers a lot of opportunities for a lot of different classes, like even biology kids can go out there and examine and study, stuff like that."

GCCS said the donations to Charlestown High will "bring more learning opportunities" to the school and give students "real-life experience."

"They will get hands-on experience of working in the commercial area, the back of the house, front of the house, management skills as well as understanding nutrition and where our food comes from and what nutrition is all about," Cassidy said.

District officials said money raised from selling the meals will be reinvested into the school's culinary program, and produce not used will be donated to the local food bank.

After an additional grant provided by Home Depot, the district received more than $85,000 for the program.

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