At first, Jay Stagg was just hoping for locally grown produce he could use in school lunches.

As the food-service director for the Whitefish School District, Stagg looks for ways to keep meals healthy. Having an on-campus garden where he could grow fruits and vegetables would be an easy way to create nutritious lunches.

The garden idea has taken on a life of its own over the last few months. Now Stagg is spearheading an effort to create an “edible schoolyard,” where students can participate in the gardening process.

“It will be an outdoor classroom where kids can actually touch and see where their food comes from,” Stagg said.

To date he has received $7,000 in grants from the Whitefish Education Foundation and Montana State University’s Team Nutrition Program, but he’ll need several thousand dollars more to make the dream reality.

The dream includes a 7,500-square-foot fenced yard between Whitefish High School and Muldown Elementary, and a 1,400-square-foot high-tunnel hoop house. Having a greenhouse is important, considering Montana’s short growing season.

The yard will include raised beds replete with vegetables, herbs and native plants, Stagg said. He also wants to include a raspberry line and 6- or 7-year-old fruit trees so kids can enjoy a fruit harvest in the project’s first year.

“We feel that waiting for years for immature apple, plum and cherry trees to produce fruit would hinder the edible schoolyard experience,” Stagg wrote in a grant proposal.

Some fruits and vegetables from the students’ labors might make it into school lunches, but the garden will be “mainly for the kids to taste and play with,” he said.

The garden will give students a chance to learn about how plants grow and to discover where food comes from before it reaches the grocery store. Stories about kids who have no idea their jug of milk had a history before reaching the supermarket are probably less common in Montana than in more urban areas, but even children in Whitefish sometimes take their food for granted, Stagg said.

“It’s not any fault to them. It’s just because we’ve gotten away from family farms or having a plot in the backyard. It’s easier to drive to Super 1,” he said.

There are still several details to flesh out, including how to make the garden project sustainable.

“We don’t want to put it together only to have it fail and grow weeds,” Stagg said.

Grant money and hoped-for future donations will help. Students could sell flower pots for Mother’s Day. One teacher has proposed drying flower petals and selling potpourri packets. Stagg anticipates selling surplus produce at local farmers markets.

While Whitefish School District funds won’t be used to build or sustain the greenhouse, the district did agree to pay for a water line and the water used. The as-yet-undetermined garden coordinator won’t be on the district’s payroll; Stagg is trying to raise grant money to pay for that part-time position.

He isn’t working alone; several local people have helped him with the planning and grant-writing processes.

David Noftsinger of Forestoration drew up a landscape design to accompany the grant proposals. Pam Gerwe of Purple Frog Gardens helped design the garden plot and research different plants and greenhouses.

“Just her local knowledge of farming has been very helpful,” Stagg said.

Pat McGlynn, Flathead County extension agent, helped Stagg organize and focus his project.

“She helped me to really narrow down what exactly I want to do,” he said.

There are still plenty more volunteer and donation opportunities, Stagg said. He needs help if he is going to break ground this summer.

For further information about the edible schoolyard project, contact Stagg at 862-8600 extension 249.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.