Upland Hills Food Truck 

Nourish Kitchen is the food program at Upland Hills School, rooted in the joy of growing, cooking and eating nourishing food together.

 

One of the grounding principles of Upland Hills is that the natural world is our primary teacher. Nowhere is that more felt than in our relationship with food.

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Our students experience the food system from beginning to end: planting seeds, working in the gardens and greenhouse, tending plants, harvesting food, cooking with our chefs and finally sitting down together to eat what we've grown. Along the way, they learn about soil, seasons, ecology, nutrition, culture and the work that goes into feeding a community.

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From our gardens to our tables

 

Each year, we're working to bring more of what we eat closer to home.

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Our gardens are becoming an increasingly important part of the Nourish Kitchen. The tomatoes and garlic grown at Upland, for example, will supply our kitchen throughout the 2026–27 school year, finding their way into pastas, pizzas, curries, chilis and more.

 

Beyond what we grow ourselves, we're working to source more of our grains, beans and other staples locally and to build relationships that bring us closer to the people and places producing our food.

 

Building a more sustainable food system is an evolving process. Each season gives us another opportunity to grow more, source more thoughtfully, waste less and move closer to the kind of food system we want our children to experience.

 

We work to keep waste low, including serving lunches in reusable metal bento boxes and finding creative ways to use what we grow and cook.

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Food is part of the curriculum

 

Nourish Kitchen isn't separate from learning at Upland. It is part of it.

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Our chefs teach classes like Jammin' in the Food Truck, Knife Skills, Cooking and Canning, and Little Bakers, giving students the chance to become comfortable and creative in the kitchen.

 

Students work in the gardens and greenhouse and experience the full journey of their food: seed to sprout, tending to harvest, cooking to shared meal.

 

Our gardens can also become a way into history and culture. We're currently growing Indigenous heritage seeds using the Three Sisters tradition as part of our curriculum exploring the history of the land and people of the Oxford area.

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Food kids love, made to nourish them

 

We believe nutritious food should also be food children are genuinely excited to eat.

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Our recipes are created with kids in mind, with whole ingredients, plenty of nutrients and the joy of food at the center. That might mean carrot brownies, loaded oats, homemade pizzas or our mac and "cheese," where vegetables are cooked down into a rich, creamy sauce.

 

We experiment. We introduce new foods. We make familiar foods differently. And sometimes we simply make something delicious.

 

Because we know that nourished children learn better.

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Gratitude for what the earth provides

 

At the center of Nourish Kitchen is gratitude.

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When children participate in growing their own food, a tomato isn't simply something that appeared on a plate. They understand the tending and waiting. They may have picked it themselves.

 

There is something powerful in helping children recognize the abundance around them and understand that it deserves both celebration and care.

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We want our students to experience food with joy and curiosity, but also with an awareness of where it comes from and what makes it possible. Healthy soil. Clean water. Pollinators. Farmers. Cooks. Seasons. Sunlight. And a community willing to care for all of it.

 

We believe nourished children learn better, nourished communities lead better, and gratitude for the abundance we share changes the way we care for one another and the natural world.

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That is what we're growing and cooking at Nourish Kitchen.