Transition Program Students Plant, Harvest and Sell Locally at Farmer's Market

October is approaching, and with it the last weeks of local farmer's markets. The La Grange Farmer’s Market, though, is currently showcasing somewhat of an anomaly in a generation of tech-savvy millennials: crops planted, grown and sold by high school students.

Students from the Lyons Township High School Transition Program spent their summers watering, weeding and harvesting more than they did tanning and swimming, and they’re outside selling their vegetables, herbs and wildflowers every Thursday through the end of October.

The students share their market space with their sponsors, the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners and La Grange Adventist Hospital, according to a press release from their school district, Lyons Township High School District 204.

The program has partnered with several local businesses throughout the summer months, including the Fruit Store, Vie, Nickson’s Eatery, Palmer Place, Now Serving and Davonti’s. The students’ heirlooms tomatoes — of which they sold more than $2,000 worth this summer — were also featured in Francesca’s Tomato Fest in early September.

The purpose of the transition program at Lyons Township is to help ease the transition from high school to adult life, according to the release. The program is based in the Transition House, which is a district-owned house where students can practice skills for successful adult life. The program’s garden is nearby and houses extra outdoor classroom space as well as accessible paths and space for gardening.

Catch students selling Tuscan kale, Brussel sprouts, pumpkins, gourds and spaghetti squash at the market, located outside of the 6th Ave. parking garage, before they’re out for the season.

Top photo of La Grange Farmer's Market by Anicka Slachta for Patch.