The start of the school year in September meant the return of the Mission High School Piesters – a group of students who participate in a year-long food systems education and training program at Pie Ranch. For some of the Piesters, this is the 4th year they have participated in the program, and their monthly visits feel much like a family reunion.

Mission High School was the first school that Pie Ranch partnered with when we began our educational programming in 2005. This pilot program has inspired other collaborations with area schools, including Oceana High in Pacifica, The Urban School of San Francisco, Pescadero High School, Santa Cruz High School, and others. All of these custom tailored programs aim to educate on sustainable food systems, inspire and train leaders, and offer opportunity for meaningful work and life-skill training across the continuum of the food system, from farming to baking to distribution. We intend to offer youth relevant and meaningful work as a context to explore their new competencies, with the goal of engaging life-long commitments to work that advances sustainability.

Through a collaborative partnership with Mission High English teacher Corky Kern and science teacher Matt Heller, the Piesters visit Pie Ranch one day a month beginning in September and culminating in an overnight stay in June. Through these repeat visits, the Piesters deepen their relationship to the land and people of Pie Ranch, and participate directly in the entire cycle of growing, processing, selling, baking, and consuming pie. Some of the students also work at Pie Ranch’s farm stand and/or Mission Pie in San Franscisco and learn the selling aspect of a sustainable food system.

As students move through this program, they take on progressively more responsibility for its content by becoming peer leaders. At the end of last school year, we had a tearful ceremony to say goodbye to the outgoing seniors. Alex and Mark symbolically passed corn cob “torches” to the next youth leaders, who returned last month for their debut as 2008 peer leaders.

Reflecting on his time at Pie Ranch, Mark wrote this in his journal:
“At Pie Ranch I learned how to plant, grow and cook healthy food and how to care for animals. I learned that I can do anything. I showed bravery by coming to Pie Ranch and doing something new. I was nervous to meet new people, but I showed courage and overcame my shyness around other people. I am more helpful to others now. I have more determination now to be a better student. I have changed a lot since I started coming to Pie Ranch.”

Part of the tradition of the Piesters’ visit is to start the day with a hike to the overlook – a hill on the Upper Slice that looks over the fields. We all enjoy a moment of silence, which gives the students a chance to get grounded and observe what has changed in the month since their last visit. We then share our observations and talk about the activities for the day. There is always a group who bakes pie, a team who helps our nutrition educator cook lunch, and other groups who participate in farm activities such as harvesting, feeding chickens, or sowing seeds, depending on the season.

In September, we also welcomed back Andy, who graduated from Mission High two years ago. Andy is returning this year as an assistant chef and nutrition educator in training. Through his experience as a Piester, Andy was inspired to go to culinary school, and is currently at City College. We are very excited to have Andy back, and to pilot this new training position for students to stay connected to Pie Ranch after they graduate high school.

Read more about Pie Ranch’s educational programs . . .

-Sky DeMuro, Capital Campaign Manager & Farm Apprentice