The Greystone Green Thumbs stand is operated by chefs-in-training at the nearby Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Students in the Green Thumbs club help weed and harvest the school's handful of pesticide-free vegetable plots, attend lectures on farming, and cook with the produce they grow.

"I have never seen such enthusiasm around this topic. Saturday morning from 8 until noon, I have 10 students in the garden. I don't have to drag them out of bed or anything," said CIA Professor Chris Loss, who has a doctorate in food science and leads the project.

About a year old, the CIA's garden project is an example of the kind of green programs local culinary schools are adding to their curriculum. It's gone beyond recycling, or even composting kitchen scraps. San Francisco's California Culinary Academy now offers a three-week class devoted to vegetarian cooking. The culinary program at the brand-new Art Institute of California campus in Sunnyvale plans to send its used cooking oil to Oakland to fuel public school buses.

"Culinary schools have a great opportunity to contribute to sustainable education. Restaurants are a wonderful microcosm of larger food systems," said Loss, whose garden project is part of research he is conducting on how to develop educational programs in sustainable culinary practices.

At the CCA, Vinita Jacinto teaches the Contemporary Cooking class, in which students learn about vegetarian and vegan cuisine, as well as how to cook for people with allergies, diabetes or other dietary restrictions.

Jacinto, who grew up in India with a vegetarian father and a meat-eating mother, asks her students to come up with vegetarian alternatives in a range of culinary traditions, which can appeal to the growing number of diners who are interested in reducing their meat consumption.

"Look at the number of restaurants that are prominently featuring vegetarian items on the menu. I tell students it's good business," he said. "It should not be thought of as, 'This is for the vegans, this is for the vegetarians.' It's just good food."

At the Art Institute of California's culinary school in Sunnyvale, where students can earn an associate's degree in culinary arts or a bachelor's in culinary management, program director Eric Frauwirth said the emphasis is on how to select ingredients and run the kitchen in a green way.

When the student-staffed restaurant opens in the fall, the beer and wine list will be hyper-local, with selections produced within the greater San Jose area. Frauwirth plans to install an organic herb garden for student use and is working on getting the school certified as a green business.

At the CIA in St. Helena, Loss has the students work at the farmers' market so that they can learn about the economics of growing quality produce.

"They need to know everything about their food," he said. "If you really want to provide your customers with the most honest and authentic cuisine, you have to really know where it's coming from."

Jacinto of San Francisco's California Culinary Academy notices a transformation in her students, who usually start out griping about having to cook vegetarian food for three weeks.

"I know that in the end my students are more mindful," she said. "They definitely look at things differently."

tduggan@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page W - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle