Shawn Kessler

“Food for Thought” is Kessler’s winning program designed to allow students in the San Diego area to create their own gardens in small urban environments while learning the benefits of eating organic produce. With fruit testing turning up traces of pesticides, one way to help his students gain all the healthy benefits of eating fruits and vegetables is to help them grow their own. Kessler will help his students use different methods of organic gardening including soil gardening, hydroponic gardening and aquaponics. The students will also conduct different experiments testing how soil nutrition, water nutrients and interspecific relationships affect plant growth and development. Food produced from the gardens will be sold at either farmers markets or to school families. The money raised from the sale of the produce will be used for multiple purposes including educating others on sustainable farming practices, creating a charity component allowing students to donate funds raised to local sustainable food programs and investing back into the garden project for both continued production and growth of the program. Kessler, who lives in San Diego, hopes students will gain knowledge in making healthy food choices and building gardens at home to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables.