fieldtrips
Food Education Field Trips
for Schools & Youth Groups
Pie Ranch offers sliding scale, fee-for-service programs for K-12 schools. We seek to help students make cross-curricular connections that attempt to advance a comprehensive understanding of how the food we eat has economic, social, environmental, and political implications—on the micro and macro level. All our youth programs take place at our Pie Ranch location at 2080 Green Oaks Way, Pescadero.
Pie Ranch has been partnering with public schools since 2005, when we began working with the youth at Mission High School in San Francisco. In our first year, we served 50 students; now we reach between 500 and 1000 young people each year.
We offer field trips to the ranch for school-age children and youth to experience a working farm; to learn where their food comes from, and most importantly, to build a connection to nature. All one-time visitors receive an introduction to the concept of food justice. Repeat and overnight visits are encouraged so that youth can witness the changing of the seasons on the farm, participate in farm chores or a pie bake to gain a deeper appreciation for what it takes to produce food from the soil and in the kitchen, and to build trust and respect for our food, the land and the relationships that nourish us all.
For questions related to field trips, please email our team at fieldtrips@pieranch.org. If you are getting in touch to schedule a field trip, please complete the form below so that we can gather all the necessary information needed to schedule your field trip on our program calendar. We book up to 6 months in advance for non-partner schools.
All income received from farm visits supports our operational costs, which allows us to continue offering learning opportunities on our farm and also provides coverage for schools that express a need for financial assistance. Thank you for your support! Please see below for more detailed information.
FIELD TRIP OPTIONS
INTRODUCTION TO A WORKING FARM
Groups of 15 to 30, 1.5 hours
10am–12:30pm
All Ages
Enjoy a two-hour walking tour of our farm with one of our staff. Tour includes a milling demonstration in our historic Roadside Barn and discussion of our small-farm operation. Guests are invited to bring their own lunch to picnic in our meadow following their tour. *Tour can be truncated to 1.5 hours (without milling demo).
10:00am: Arrival and Welcome
10:00am–10:30am: Overview of Pie Ranch, ice breaker, safety review
10:30am–12:30pm: Milling Demo followed by walking tour of farm
12:30pm: Enjoy our meadow for your own picnic lunch (optional)
CONNECTING WITH THE SOIL
Groups of 15 to 30, 3.5 hours
9:30am–1:00pm
School Groups 5th Grade and above
Enjoy a facilitated tour of the farm, engage in a farm activity that relates to the current season and crops that we are growing on the farm. Tour includes a milling demonstration in our historic Roadside Barn and a discussion of our small-farm operation. Guests are invited to bring their own lunch to picnic in our meadow at the end of the experience.
9:30am: Arrival and Welcome
9:30am–10:00am: Overview of Pie Ranch, ice breaker, safety review
10:00am–11:30am: Walking Tour of Farm & milling demo
11:30am–1:00pm: Farm project with farm team (see seasonal farm activities below)
1:00pm: Enjoy our meadow for your own picnic lunch (optional)
MAIZE TO MILL TO MUFFINS
Groups of up to 30, 3.5 hours
9:30am–1:30pm
1st Grade and above
Start the day at our village-sized grain mill and grind corn or wheat that was grown here in the fields at Pie Ranch. Carry the fresh-milled flour to the outdoor kitchen, stopping along the way to visit the Native Garden and goat pasture. In the kitchen, we’ll do a simple baking activity with the corn or wheat flour and serve our yummy confection as a supplement to your picnic lunches from home.
9:30am: Arrival and Welcome
9:30am–10:00am: Overview of Pie Ranch, introductions, bathrooms
10:00am–10:30am: Visit the mill at the farmstand and mill farm-grown grain
10:30-11:15am: Abbreviated farm tour through the Native Garden and lower goat pasture
11:15-12:15 Bake with the fresh-milled flour in the outdoor kitchen
12:15pm: Picnic lunch in the meadow
12:30pm Baked goods are served as an after-lunch treat
FOOD JUSTICE FROM FIELD TO TABLE
Groups of up to 20, 3.5 hours (can accommodate larger groups with an extra rotation)
9:30am–1:30pm
School groups 5th Grade and above
Food justice seeks to ensure that the benefits and risks of where, what, and how food is grown, produced, transported, distributed, processed and eaten are shared fairly and equitably. Participants will enjoy a day of farming, cooking, and conversations around how justice manifests in our food systems. Participants will break into two groups. One group will join our farm educator for a tour or farm activity around Pie Ranch, while the other group prepares lunch in the outdoor kitchen with the chef educator, then the two groups switch.
9:30am: Arrival and Welcome
9:30am–10:00am: Overview of Pie Ranch, ice breaker, safety review, Group splits into two groups
10:00am–11:15am: Group 1: farm tour or activity, Group 2: culinary lesson with chef educator
11:15am - 12:30pm: Group 2: farm tour or activity, Group 1: culinary lesson with chef educator
12:30pm: Enjoy a lunch buffet prepared by and for your group!
1:30pm: Survey & departure
THE WHOLE PIE
Groups of up to 30, 3.5 hours
9:30am–1:30pm
School Groups 5th Grade and above
Upon arrival, the group will be divided into three teams: farm, culinary, and pie baking. The farm team will work alongside our farmers and educators on a seasonal farm project. The culinary team will work with our chef educator to prepare lunch for the visiting class. The pie team will create and bake pies from scratch. The groups will reunite to enjoy the lunch buffet and freshly made pies to conclude the visit.
9:30am: Arrival and Welcome
9:30am–10:00am: Overview of Pie Ranch, ice breaker, safety review
10:00am–12:30pm: Farm, Culinary, Pie teams break out
12:30pm–1:15pm: Lunch
1:15-1:30pm: Enjoy pie together
OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP: LIFE ON A FARM
Available to School Groups ONLY
Groups of up to 30, minimum 1.5 days
Please inquire with our team through fieldtrips@pieranch.org to inquire about bringing students to the farm for an overnight camp trip.
Booking Details & Cancellation Policy
We book 6 months in advance for non-partner schools. For example, if you'd like to visit in April of 2026, we will consider your request in October of 2025.
A 25% deposit is required to book and must be paid within seven business days of receiving an email confirmation. Full payment for visits is due 30 days after the invoice is issued. If weather conditions are unfavorable, we will offer an option to reschedule. Cancellations made within seven days will forfeit the deposit.
Changes to the number of attendees must be made 14 days in advance for all programs that include a culinary lesson or catered meal for food ordering purposes. Please note that you will be invoiced for the number of students you booked for.
All visitors (teachers, students, chaperones) must submit a valid waiver in order to participate in Pie Ranch programming.
Interested in what kinds of activities you might find on the farm during the different seasons? Read below to get an idea of the work we do in the fields throughout the year.
WINTER
Farm: Soil tests; sowing wheat; pruning cane berries and apple trees; greenhouse work; paint signs for farm stand & tours/workdays; pest control; goat care; weeding; orchard care; citrus harvesting; corn & bean processing; grain milling; herb harvesting; salve making
Kitchen: Culinary experiences with winter squash, bread baking, heirloom beans, hearty stews, lemons & limes, pea & bean greens, wild greens, polenta, fresh tortillas
Pies: Lemon Buttermilk, Persian lime, Walnut, Blackberry, Pumpkin, Apple, Pear, Savory pies
SPRING
Farm: Prep ground for planting; set-up irrigation; sowing in greenhouse; direct sowing & transplanting; harvest & post-harvest handling; weed cultivation; goat care; pest control; soil amending; trellising; aged manure turning
Kitchen: Spring salads, citrus desserts, frittata, heirloom beans, baking with Pie Ranch wheat, fresh milled grains; polenta, pea & bean greens; strawberry desserts
Pies: Lemon Buttermilk, Strawberry Rhubarb, Persian Lime, Quiche, Savory pies
SUMMER
Farm: Weeding; summer tree pruning; crop harvest; goat milking; berry harvest; pest control; flower harvest; post-harvest handling, goat milking, everything!
Kitchen: Corn tortillas, bruschetta, strawberry crepes, pesto, goat cheese, salads, veggie pizza, vegetable abundance.
Pies: Strawberry Rhubarb, Peach, Lemon buttermilk, Pear, Savory pies
FALL
Farm: Corn, bean & squash harvest, tomato harvest, plant strawberries & garlic, pest control, preparing ground for winter cover crops, weeding, mulching fruit trees, pulling out summer crops, winnowing beans and processing them for drying, goat milking.
Kitchen: Mashed & roasted potatoes, roasted butternut squash soup, fresh baked bread, tomato sauce, corn on the cob, polenta, fall fruit & veggie abundance.
Pies: Apple, Pumpkin, Pear, Strawberries, Blackberries.