Lettuce from California?

As I teach this class I am trying to expose the students with some problems with our current food system. One of those problems is food mile or the distance our food travels before we eat it. I have seen many figures when it comes to how far our food travels but it seems like 1500 miles is a pretty common figure. That is pretty crazy to think about, that is the average!

 So as a class we read an article and had a discussion about why our food system is this way and the negative effects of our food traveling so far. After this I wanted to show them that it was not necessary to grow our food in California so I had each of them plant a lettuce plant following the Kratky method. He is a professor that developed a hydroponic system that needs no water circulation or air pumps. In other words it can be off the grid. I installed a shop light in the back of my room, got the supplies and we were in business.  Here are some of my students working on it.
 

And here are a couple of real cool pictures. This is one of my students holding his plant just after planting it and one of him 13 days later. Look how much bigger the lettuce is, it is amazing.


 

 If you want to know more about the Kratky method and what I did message me. It is so simple but very powerful for kids to experience.