Building community garden raised beds at Alvarez High School

Proposed project: Building twenty-one raised beds at Alvarez High School.

The African Alliance of RI (AARI) is seeking $2,500 to purchase composing for the twenty-one raised garden beds to be built at Alvarez High School. Alvarez High School is located at 375 Adelaide Avenue in South Providence RI.

Gardening: AARI will provide technical support throughout the growing and harvest seasons. Alvarez High School at 375 Adelaide Avenue - 80 high school students- On March 10 and  29, AARI met with seven teachers at this school. This project will build twenty-one raised beds as the school garden. The school identified location for the garden beds, secured Fence Company willing to donate material and labor to install fencing to secure the location and have identified the source of irrigation for the garden. Eighty students and seven teachers have made commitment to create student groups with leaders per group.  We believe that sustainability of youth education program through the skills learned on this project will stay with them into their future. They will become future leaders in community food security projects. Food is also a powerful tool in the building of the community; breaking down isolation, parents participation, teacher volunteers, leadership development and African Alliance of RI donates seeds, technical support and labor at the build-out of the raised beds

South Providence neighborhood: The residents of South Providence neighborhoods do not have easy access to commercial grocery stores or access to many fresh-food options — the so-called “food desert” problem. In neighborhoods with no supermarket or access to many fresh-food options, families rely on corner stores for their grocery needs. The problem is many of these corner stores sell packaged, highly processed products and kids frequently shop there.

There are 80 students, their parents & 7 teachers willing and ready to volunteer labor. Local company donating 100 linear feet of chain link fence installed. Garden location has been identified.

African Alliance currently operates 5 garden locations in the same community- South Providence since 2009. We agreed to provide extensive support during the build-out of the garden, planting, maintenance and harvesting season to this project.

We will provide some of the pieces of untreated pine to build. We have also secured other local company interested in donating wood for the raised beds. We have held meetings with the teachers & students. We are excited about this project. 

We believe that sustainability of youth education program through the skills learned on this project will stay with them into their future. They will become future leaders in community food security projects. Food is also a powerful tool in the building of the community; breaking down isolation, parents participation, teacher volunteers, leadership development and African Alliance of RI donates seeds, technical support and labor at the build-out of the raised beds