By Yaza Sarieh
Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.
Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered for the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:
Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods,
Include culturally responsive food and education,
Include organic and/or sustainability focused garden education,
Increase local food procurement
And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways.
To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here.
We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Dawson County School District. School Nutrition Director, Scott Richardson, has been leading a collaborative mini grant project at Kilough Elementary School.
All photos courtesy of Dawson County Schools.
The greenhouse at Kilough Elementary School was in bad shape when Scott Richardson arrived in Dawson County a few years ago. Even though it was run down, Scott recognized that the greenhouse would be a place where agriculture education would thrive. To get the ball rolling, Scott applied to the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant and received funding to rehab the space for the community to grow food.
With the greenhouse revamp underway, interest and investment in the project has taken off, with many staff members at the school beginning to take the lead on lessons and maintenance tasks. The greenhouse has even gone beyond the Kilough school walls. Local high school students have joined the project through their Future Farmers of America (FFA) Agribusiness Management class, supporting hands-on activities such as amending beds, testing soil samples, installing irrigation/sprinkler systems and building large hydroponic tables.
All photos courtesy of Dawson County Schools.
For Kilough students, the greenhouse has become a place where they learn life-long lessons about food and nutrition. During one activity, students tasted celery grown in the greenhouse and compared it to celery supplied by the cafeteria. Because the school had waited too long to harvest the greenhouse celery, it was considerably more sour than normal. After the taste test, one student commented, “Now I know why my mom buys food from Walmart,” which led to a discussion on where food comes from and why it can taste different. The greenhouse has provided these students with hands-on learning experiences that are more memorable and impactful than a typical lesson.
One of the biggest takeaways Scott has from this journey is the importance of community engagement in farm to school. Scott believes that you must build a community around farm to school projects to ensure buy-in and to sustain the efforts. Getting as many folks into the greenhouse as possible, including students, teachers, parents and reporters, has helped Scott to develop excitement and support for the project.
The greenhouse in Dawson County has provided community members from all around the district with opportunities for hands-on food education and leadership. Scott hopes to use the lessons from this mini grant project to build greenhouses in all schools throughout the district. We cannot wait to see how farm to school in Dawson County will grow!
To learn more about Dawson County School District visit https://www.dawsoncountyschools.org/.
To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).