Rosengarten Ranch Prepares for 2026 Growing Season

While winter weather lingers outside, activity inside Malvern Prep’s greenhouse is flourishing. January and February are pivotal months in preparing for spring at the Rosengarten Ranch. Seeds planted now will be transferred throughout March and April to launch the 2026 growing season.

This preparation builds on the remarkable success of the Ranch’s inaugural year. After setting an ambitious goal of harvesting 500 pounds of produce in the 2025 growing season, a team of student volunteers, led by Dr. Jim Fry, Director of the Rosengarten Ranch, far exceeded expectations. The group harvested more than 1,700 pounds of fresh produce, all of which was donated to Sanctuary Farm Phila, a nonprofit urban farm serving North Philadelphia. As the need to support families throughout the Philadelphia region continues to grow, Malvern Prep has emerged as a consistent partner in addressing food insecurity. Through its collaboration with Sanctuary Farm, the Ranch now helps provide fresh produce to more than 200 people each week.

This summer, Malvern students will further deepen that partnership by participating in the Sanctuary Farm Community Scholars Program, a two-week immersive experience focused on building healthy communities. Through hands-on work at an urban farm and collaboration with community leaders, students will explore how historical and contemporary social, political, and economic factors have contributed to food insecurity and environmental challenges in urban neighborhoods. Throughout the program, participants focus on the essential question: What makes a healthy community?

On campus, a new initiative, launched in partnership with Mother Compost, brings composting to the Ranch and Malvern’s Dining Services. Alongside local schools, Malvern is diverting food scraps from landfills and returning them to the soil, creating a closed-loop system in which compost supports local farms, orchards, and the Ranch itself. Since the dining hall began composting in September of 2025, nearly 4,500 pounds of food waste have been diverted from the local landfill.

The Ranch, compost program, and other growing areas are all supported by Malvern Preparatory School’s Laudato Si’ Certification through the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, an initiative of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. This recognition affirms our deepening commitment to ecological sustainability, Christian Service, and the values of integral ecology.

“The success of our first growing season is just the beginning for the Ranch,” said Dr. Jim Fry. “Watching the program grow and seeing the real impact it has in our community is incredibly meaningful. What started as a living classroom is now creating tangible change for our neighbors.”

As the Ranch enters its second growing season, there is great anticipation for what lies ahead. From the greenhouse to the greater Philadelphia community, Malvern Prep’s commitment to addressing food insecurity and environmental stewardship is cultivating not only fresh produce but also lasting, meaningful change.