VIDEO - TEXAS: Students Use High-Tech Farm to Feed Classmates in Manor ISD

by: Ava Brendgord

Nov 6, 2025

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Students in Manor ISD are bringing a whole new meaning to farm-to-table.

Inside Oak Meadows Elementary, school leaders have launched a program to hydroponically grow fresh lettuce and basil as part of the school district’s Farm to School initiative.

To grow vegetables hydroponically, plants grow in nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Manor ISD purchased hydroponic towers that allow the plants to grow faster than traditional growing methods, and often in more abundance.

“Everything the plants need to grow is provided artificially,” Oak Meadows Principal Marcelina Cobb said. “It’s a wonderful feeling because students are not just learning in traditional ways, like books and technology. They’re touching and tasting.”

Cobb said Oak Meadows is striving to become the number one “green school” in Manor ISD. They’re working with the district’s nutrition department to achieve that goal.

Nutrition Director Ryan Cengel helped purchase the hydroponic growing farm for the campus through grant funding.

“It’s a fantastic learning experience for our students. I know of some other districts that are doing similar things,” he said. “Anything we can do from the food services department to provide our students with ample opportunities to learn about nutrition and food we do.”

Cengel said the hands-on experience is about much more than a school project. He hopes the program develops healthy eating habits.

“Vegetables can be a tough sell sometimes for kids, but there is a lot of research that shows when the kids are growing it from seed to plant, they’re more likely to try it or to think about trying something,” Cengel explained.

But leaders at the school aren’t the only ones who approve of the program. Students like fourth grader Maria said growing plants in the classroom is fun.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I want to try it!'” Maria said.

When asked what she thinks the hydroponic veggies will taste like, Maria believes they will taste better than the ones at the grocery store.

“I think it’s going to taste like candy, really good. It’s going to be really, really good,” she said.

Cengel explained that the vegetables grown by the students will end up on their classmates’ lunch trays. The school will purchase the vegetables and serve them back to Oak Meadows.