Unique High School Food Slideshow

Founded in 2007 by three students from Monument Mountain Regional High School, Project Sprout began as a 3,500-square-foot student-run garden on school grounds. Created to provide fresh produce to both the school and community, the project tripled in size over the next few years and grew to include a fruit orchard.

The produce from the Great Barrington, Mass.-based garden is served almost daily in school lunches — local soup kitchens and homeless shelters also benefit from the bounty. The farm serves as educational tool for the community and inspires students to think about where food comes from.

Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., relies on students to keep the cafeteria running smoothly. Before class, students not only serve breakfast to fellow classmates, but also man the register and prep food for lunch.

Task include things like wrapping burgers for service and adding the finishing touches to lunch dishes made in the school's kitchen. The program allows students to gain responsibility while earning a paycheck.

What is the West Allis-West Milwaukee Classroom Café? It's a Wisconsin-based outfit manned by teens from the local high schools (West Allis Nathan Hale High School and West Allis Central High School) before and after their classes. Situated on the first floor of the school administration building, the café serves breakfast and lunch and allows students to learn the logistics of running a food outlet. Offerings include bagels, subs, chili, and beverages.

Eagle Café at Richardson High School in Texas teaches students what it truly means to be a chef. Teens are in charge of everything: creating the menu, preparing the food, taking orders from guests, cleaning up, and managing the budget.

Part of the culinary arts program at the Richardson, Texas, school, the café gives high school juniors hands-on restaurant experience. Open on Fridays, the restaurant serves lunch fare that includes Philly cheesesteaks, ricotta cheesecake, and turkey panini, among other items.

Students participating in the New Science Energy Program at Booker T. Washington High School for Engineering Professions in Houston, Texas, have successfully turned cafeteria food scraps into gasoline. Using the MixAlco process created by Texas A&M chemical engineering professor Mark Holtzapple — and with the guidance from the high school engineering teacher Nghia Le — the students were, after trial and error, able to transform food waste into fuel, which proves that playing with your food is A-OK.

Based in San Francisco, Calif., the Jewish Community High School of the Bay cafeteria serves up organic, kosher, vegetarian meals for students. Featuring locally grown organic produce, all of the school's meals are made in-house and are 100 percent free of meat. All waste is composted and utensils are biodegradable.

Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., uses software specifically designed for school cafeteria settings. The program, created by Comalex, allows each student's meal selections to be tracked, and dietary restrictions to be enforced if need be, providing a concrete weapon in the war on obesity. Bet doughnuts and chips seem a lot less tempting now... 

A new initiative will turn food scraps at Marcellus High School into compost. The elementary, middle, and high schools in the district have been separating garbage from food waste, and the food waste is then removed from school grounds to be composted. A partnership between the Marcellus, N.Y., school district and trash management giant Waste Management Inc., this program is estimated to save the district a few thousand dollars in annual fees for trash removal — green and budget-friendly.

Twice a month, students at Pacific High School in Sitka, Alaska, get to feast on local seafood. The initiative is a product of a partnership between the Sitka Conservation Society and the school, and was unveiled in February 2012. It will provide students with healthy, nutrient-rich fish dishes, while also supporting the local fishing industry.

Located in Vershire, Vt., The Mountain School of Milton Academy provides 45 students the opportunity to live and work on a farm each semester. Most of the food served to students comes directly from the farm, which produces fruit, veggies, meat, eggs and maple syrup.

The farm boasts a Harvest Kitchen, where students process food; a root cellar, where veggies are preserved; a squash and onion room, home to squash, onions, and garlic; and a walk-in fridge and freezer for beans, corn, and Brussels sprouts, among other veggies, and meat. The school takes the concept of farm-to-table literally, and students are involved in harvesting and preparing the food.

What is the West Allis-West Milwaukee Classroom Caf? Its a Wisconsin-based outfit manned by teens from the local high schools (West Allis Nathan Hale High School and West Allis Central High School) before and after their classes. Situated on the first floor of the school administration building, the caf serves breakfast and lunch and allows students to learn the logistics of running a food outlet. Offerings include bagels, subs, chili, and beverages.

Twice a month, students at Pacific High School in Sitka, Alaska, get to feast on local seafood. The initiative is a product of a partnership between the Sitka Conservation Society and the school, and was unveiled in February 2012. It will provide students with healthy, nutrient-rich fish dishes, while also supporting the local fishing industry.