Growing Educational Training has teamed up Farm to School and Root & Pe**er restaurant to grow vegetables for both school cafeterias and local restaurants.
Every weekday morning, five Buchholz high school students spend a couple of hours getting their hands dirty. Using state-of-the-art hydroponic towers and other systems, the students are growing a variety of vegetables and herbs in the garden of Cymplify Central, a local business cooperative that includes a market and coffee shop and will soon be expanding to add a café. The produce they harvest th
rough the Growing Education Training (GET) program is ultimately destined for the sandwiches, soups and salads that will be served at the Cymply Fresh café. Cymplify Central’s Brad Brooks has been teaching the students, their teacher Ryan Sullivan and job coach David Bennett the ins and outs of growing produce since the beginning of the school year. He says he’s impressed by how much the students have learned.
“Everything we show them, they’re really eager to do,” he said. “They’ve picked it up much quicker than I expected.”
“The students are learning the concepts of irrigation, hydroponic gardening, and basic botany, but they’re also learning social skills like speaking to and working with members of the community,” said Bennett. “There is a real sense of pride in the work that the students are accomplishing and their enthusiasm is contagious.”
As for the students, they say they’re thrilled to see the rows of tomato plants and towers of parsley where until a few weeks ago there was just dirt.
“Every day it keeps growing and growing,” said sophomore Arthur Seabrooks. “It makes me feel confident in myself, that I am capable of growing something.”
“I think about a plant like it’s a baby,” said junior Morgan Crocker. “You have to provide for it, feed and water it and take good care of it for it to grow.”
Arthur, Morgan and their fellow Buchholz students are all part of Alachua County Public Schools’ Community Based Vocational Education (CBVE) program, which provides real-life work experiences to disabled students while they’re still in high school. Currently there are about 80 students working at 65 sites throughout the county. The goal is to help those students make the transition from school to work by developing job skills in an actual business setting.
“They are out there showing the community that ‘Hey, I can do this, I can be productive,’” said David Banes, transition program specialist with the CBVE program. “It’s really rewarding when you see these kids finding success in the work world.”
Ken Block, most commonly known as the lead singer for the band Sister Hazel, is one of the founders of Cymplify Central. He says working with such motivated students has been a win-win for the organization. He wants to encourage more businesses to take part in the CBVE program.
“Take a broad look at your business and see if there’s a slice of what you do that would be a good fit,” said Block. “You can’t buy the feeling you get when you are engaged in something like this.”
A small state grant helped with the GET project startup, but more funding is needed to keep it going. Cymplify Central will be holding a Food Truck Rally on November 1st from 5 to 9 p.m., with a significant portion of the proceeds going to GET. Donation site http://www.cymplyfresh.com/
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10/31/2025
Fun day!
10/24/2025
Helping Mr. Paul pack produce that will be going out to Alachua County Public School lunch rooms through . The students helped pack and weigh tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers while learning the importance of food safety!
10/31/2025
10/24/2025