Tulsa MET Students Teach Kids Gardening To Help Fill Food Bank

The holidays are a time for sharing, for reaching out to neighbors in need.

A group of Tulsa kids is learning this lesson right in their own back yard.

The goal of Tulsa's MET High School is to help students find their own passions and interests and use them to build a better world.

"It's really something I'm passionate about," said Zach Kilburn.

The philosophy starts with the teachers—in this case, Kilburn, whose passion is community gardening. And whose classroom is right outside the school's back door.

"I have a group of student interns who work out here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They've done a ton of the work for me,"Kilburn said.

Now, the kids have gone a step further. They put together their own lesson plan on plants and nutrition and are presenting it to a group of second graders from nearby Hamilton Elementary School.

Reporter Terry Hood: "Was this a learning experience for you, as well?"
Student leader, Ali Price: "It really was. I didn't know most of this stuff about plants and I learned it, and it was really fun."

The lesson appears to be a success, but the goodness of this garden doesn't stop there.

The winter crops planted there will be harvested and given to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, to help feed hungry families.

It's an act of generosity that nourishes the community as well as the students.

"I think it provides them an outlet to give back to the community. Since we do donate the produce that we have, I think that's a connection that they may not have experienced before," Kilburn said.

And of all the seeds that were planted Tuesday, that one may be the most important of all.

"We're helping the community. That's the best part of it, that we're helping other people," Ali Price said.

News On 6 is partnering with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma to raise money for its Backpacks for Kids program.

Find out more about Food for Kids