Despite having three grocery stores within a mile radius, many students attending Carl Schurz High School in Chicago have never eaten a fresh piece of lettuce, much less know where their food is grown. This year, that’s changing for some with the construction of the school’s new food science lab. The lab allows them to grow everything from tomato seeds that have orbited through space to earthly micro-greens, arugula, and kale in a variety of different environments.

“There’s a huge disconnect between environmental and food science education, the actual process of growing, and teaching students what that process is,” says Mitch Arsenie, an AP environmental science teacher at Shurz High School, which is located on the city’s northwest side.

But he’s not starting