Culinary Arts Seed-to-Plate Gardens

Category
Vegetable and herb Garden, Flowers and ornamentals, Greenhouse or hoop house, Composting

When was your garden project started?
April 2021

What type of facility hosts your garden?
Technical High School

What programs does your garden project include?
Culinary Arts Program, Early Childhood Education, After School Enrichment, School Lunch Enhancement, Community Partnerships

Does your garden have a paid coordinator?
No

Who volunteers in your garden?
Culinary Arts Students, Culinary Arts Instructor

How is your garden project funded?
PDAL grant funds for first-year operations, community donations, Culinary Arts instructor volunteer experience and labor

What community connections do you have?
The Rumford Farmer’s Market, after school programs (new for the 2023-24 school year), school lunch enhancement, multi-program usage (other trades within R9 benefit as well)

Who tends the garden when school’s out?
The Culinary Arts Instructor, periodic student volunteers

What are your future goals?
My future goals are to greatly expand the Culinary Arts Seed-to-Plate gardens to provide education to our students in multiple trades at R9, provide meaningful contribution to food supplies used within the Culinary Arts program, enhance the school lunches provided by our sending schools, provide an after school program activity, and partnership with community organizations to help tend to the garden.

What is your most significant need?
Compensation for the numerous hours I, the Culinary Arts Instructor, have enthusiastically given to create gardens that will enhance the education provided to multiple programs, increase community connections with our students over a common interest/activity, and provide an additional local source of nourishment.