Hometown Heroes: Student garden gives back

TAMPA (FOX 13) - It's science class like you've never seen it before. Students at Hillel Academy are getting their hands dirty with a lesson in hydroponics.

"Physics, chemistry, biology, earth science; it's all in the garden," explained Hillel Academy science teacher, Amy Basham.

The school has partnered with "Tampa Urban Benefit Farms" to teach kids how to grow vegetables and feed the less fortunate in Tampa Bay. First, the students learn about the science of farming.
 
"This looked pretty cool, and I wanted to learn more about it," said eighth grader, Natan Egosi.

Then they use that knowledge to make their garden grow.

"They love coming out to the farm and seeing, 'oh my gosh my plant grew! What do I do next?',  and they see green beans that are huge and get to pick them, and they get to sample them and it's awesome," said Amy.

Then they donate a portion of the harvest to local families in need. 
 
"It's just nice to give to other people," said Natan.

They're not just feeding the less fortunate; students at Hillel Academy are also learning the benefits of eating green.

"We've had a lot of parents that said, ‘my kid will never eat lettuce’ and we had lettuce from the garden the other day and they loved it. They say ‘well, mom it's from the garden, so of course we like it. We grew it’," said Nava Kirk with Tampa Urban Benefit Farms.

They’re sprouting vegetable-lovers and planting the seed of giving, one student at a time.