Desert Garden Montessori takes pride in its all-organic lunch program, with freshly-prepared homemade hot meals and snacks prepared daily in our on-site kitchen. We serve all ages of children wholesome and delicious food, beginning with the youngest. Our Infant teachers work closely with parents to introduce foods to the babies that far surpass what’s found in jars, as they grow into an increasingly varied diet, and, eventually, begin practice with utensils. Our older children experience balanced meals from many world cuisines, and learn to love spices and styles of cooking sourced in cultures across the globe as well as close to home.
The school’s organic garden is a place with many purposes: teaching ecology, botany, and biology along with gardening skills; instilling in children a care for the earth and a deeper relationship with our environment; and providing vegetables and herbs that often become a part of the meals students enjoy each day. These food-to-table relationships will become a part of the children’s lifelong understanding.
Community service also plays a role in the school lunch program; elementary and middle school students take turns throughout the year to help serve their peers and younger students. With several students earning an official food handler’s card after study in this area each fall, this is a point of satisfaction for the children, who enjoy sharing this community responsibility.