This summer we’ve been breaking ground and getting the The Salida School Gardens-Garden to Cafeteria Program under way! The program is a collaborative effort between LiveWell Chaffee County, Salida School District, Guidestone and the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) to support the growing and eating of local, healthy foods in district cafeterias. Working in partnership with the established Salida Middle School Garden, this program will supply fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for the school meal program and utilize the garden as a context and location for environmental and agricultural education.
With the immense help of many community hands during four volunteer days and two SCC service days we now hav
e a quarter acre garden on school property on Holman Ave; complete with ten straw bale raised garden beds, ten fruit trees, a pumpkin patch, eight in ground beds, a gourd tunnel and winding pea trellises throughout the site. School district staff will receive and process the harvest and use it this fall in the school meal program. Produce will also be sold through local and youth farmer’s markets to help sustain the operations and management of the garden program, and partners will continue to raise funds to expand the project beyond the current site for future years.
In addition to garden development Guidestone is working closely with the Salida School District to create an education program that will integrate the garden and garden-based lesson plans into curriculum grades pre-k- 12. Guidestone has conducted the first teacher professional development training and is working on additional opportunities for teachers in the fall.
Perhaps as thrilling as the garden itself is the energy, generosity and collaboration from the community and partners to make this garden program a reality. It would not be the same without such comprehensive effort from such a wide variety of supporters. We are all excited to watch the garden grow and to see many more community faces enjoying fresh produce and building a healthy food program for the school district.
For more information about future volunteer opportunities or questions in general about the program, please contact Margaret at Margaret@guidestonecolorado.org.