School Farms: Feeding and Educating Children

This book highlights the potential of school farms to fight hunger and malnutrition by providing access to locally produced, fresh, and healthy food as well as providing young students with educational opportunities to learn, interact with nature, and develop their skills.

Hunger is one of the most pressing concerns we face today and there is a clear need to provide alternative sources of food to feed a fast-growing population. School farms offer a sustainable opportunity to produce food locally in order to feed underprivileged students who rely on school meals as an integral part of their daily diet. Approaching the concept of school farms through four themes, Problem, People, Process, and Place, the book shows how they can play an essential role in providing sustainable and healthy food for students, the critical role educational institutions can play in promoting this process, and the positive impact hands-on farming can have on students’ mental and physical wellbeing. Utilizing the authors’ personal hands-on experiences, and drawing on global case studies, the book provides a theoretical framework and practical guidance to help with the establishment of school farms and community-based gardening projects and an education system which promotes a sustainable and healthy approach to food, agriculture, and the environment.

This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of food security, agriculture, healthy and sustainable diets, education for sustainable development, and urban studies. It will also be of great interest to practitioners and policymakers involved in food policy, developing school and community projects, global health and international development, as well as education professionals.

Alshimaa Aboelmakarem Farag is a researcher, educator, and urban designer, who has a special passion for creating public spaces that are smart, inclusive, livable, healthy, and people-oriented. She is an Assistant Professor at Zagazig University, Egypt. Her most recent book is Humanizing Cities Through Car-Free City Development and Transformation (2020).

Samaa Badawi is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Mansoura University, Egypt. She has worked in both the academic and research fields for eighteen years where her interest lies with livable cities, human-friendly urban environments, and urban conservation.

Gurpinder Lalli is a Senior Lecturer in Education and Inclusion Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. He is the author of Schools, Food and Social Learning (Routledge, 2019).

Maya Kamareddine is a Lecturer of Architecture at Effat University, College of Architecture and Design, Saudi Arabia.