WC High School vo-ag program opens news storefront Monday

During a special tour of the new facility last Friday, Brian Prewitt (right), WCHS vo-ag teacher, provided information about the vo-ag program and its new ventures to Jonathan Shell (left), who is currently running for Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner.

The Whitley County High School Hydro-Gardens is officially open for business with a brand-new storefront.

Operated entirely by the WCHS vo-ag program, Hydro-Gardens celebrated its grand opening Monday. The new storefront adjoins a 2,000 square foot greenhouse facility that is set to be up and running later this year, which will greatly expand the program’s current operations.

Brian Prewitt, WCHS vo-ag teacher, said that the new storefront will be a boon for both the program and students.

Currently, customers will be able to come in and get anything they might need for a garden, including tomato, lettuce and pepper plants, among others, as well as a variety of bedding flowers and hanging baskets with anything from petunias to ferns. Sales are typically only open to the public for approximately five weeks throughout the school year with the program’s current operation, though they plan to be open for the remainder of the school year on May 12. 

Until that time, the storefront will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Once the greenhouse is finished and sales open up again in September, the storefront will be able to operate throughout the entirety of the school year. Prewitt said the new greenhouse will exclusively utilize hydroponics for growing produce. Once their yield exceeds what is needed for the local restaurants they currently supply to, customers will be able to visit the storefront to purchase fully-grown produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. 

The storefront will also provide students with hands-on experience to help them learn how a retail business works, according to Prewitt.

“To start the day, each kid will have to count their [cash] drawer down and we’ll be using assistant managers, so they’ll be double checking that, that way there is a check-off just like a job. At the start of every period, they’ll do that check and the same thing at the end,” said Prewitt. “So, it’s run just like a real business, which it is.”

Traditionally, the program has offered their plants and flowers on a cash- or check-only basis, but will now be able to accept credit and debit cards.

“Countless customers will ask if we take credit cards. We get asked that all the time…and that was a big hurdle for our finance office with school finance laws,” said Prewitt. “To my knowledge, we’re the first ones who can take credit cards.”

Superintendent John Siler explained that the finance laws that govern schools are much different from those for private businesses, which can make implementing credit and debit cards a bit difficult. A lot of work went into finding ways around the obstacles while also working within the boundaries of the law, according to Siler.

“It can be done,” said Siler. “But, it’s not easy.”

Hydro-Gardens was recently accepted as a 2023 Kentucky Farm Bureau Certified Farm Market Program, meaning that their products meet the highest standards of quality, freshness and market appeal, so customers can know that they are getting some of the best plants/produce available.

Additionally, the business is also entirely self-sufficient. All the money generated from sales goes back into the program to help pay for everything from seeds and supplies to educational trips for the vo-ag program’s students.