Grow Healthy! South Bronx School Gardens Fundraiser

Our goal for the 2017-18 school-year is to establish long-term partnerships with District-7 schools and develop gardens at four different sites. Our fundraising goal for year 2018 is $10,000. 

The Live Healthy! Program has been supporting school gardens since 2014. We need additional funding to have the flexibility to bring additional resources, as needed, and relieve some of the burdens of garden maintenance from school staff. Our goal is to raise enough funds to build and maintain all four garden sites throughout the school year while inviting the community to take ownership of the space and enjoy the benefits of growing food locally. School gardens provide opportunities for students to learn about a wide array of topics including health and nutrition while using a STEM-based curriculum.

We will apply 100% of funds raised to build gardens consisting of a minimum of 3 garden beds (8’ x 2’), a design space for native and flowering plants (a “pollination station”), and a composting station. We will also install a vertical garden with a built-in irrigation system and have the students involved in designing and building a rainwater irrigation system. We will allocate more or less resources to each school’s garden space based on their particular needs by using a garden-integration scale.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR THE SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY?

• Students learn focus, patience, cooperation, teamwork and social skills.
• Students are more likely to taste vegetables and fruits that they have planted, grown and harvested themselves.
• Students experience an increase in self-confidence, higher efficacy, and new skills and knowledge in food growing.
• Students begin to start choosing healthy foods over junk food, due to food and nutrition education exposure.
• The schoolyard is diversified and beautified and provides space for parents and teachers to engage and build community.
• Graffiti and vandalism decrease because students feel ownership in the gardens where they eat and learn.

We are competing for matching funds, so please make your donation today and make a lasting impact in the community! 

1. Select four schools from District 7 to partner for this project based on their readiness, willingness, wellness goals, and financial need.

2. Establish Garden Commitees (3-5 members) at each site and develop a development timeline.

3. Organize garden build-days that will include members of the community, NY Common Pantry volunteers, parents, staff and students and invite the media and the public to participate.

4. Set a date for A Wellness Day to discuss Wellness Policies at the school.

5. Start nutrition and gardening workshops at the site in 10-week sessions, once per week.

6. Evaluate Garden-integration once a year. A well-integrated school garden is defined by the enactment of a development and maintenance plan, incorporation of the garden throughout the school day and in school curriculum, student engagement, and staff and community involvement. 

Our work takes place in high-need communities of the city and we want to be able to continue to support the schools and our students over time. Sustainability is one of our measures of success, and building and maintaining gardens requires a wide array of resources. We have enough funding to cover materials like seeds, seedling, bulk soil, compost, but the amount supplied is limited per school and we will need more to support our growing program in Mott Haven, where 92% of our students live in poverty. 

Additionally, we have been aiming to improve our student's health by addressing their current attitudes and behaviors toward fresh fruits and vegetables. School gardens have been proven to have an effect on the student’s willingness to try fresh foods while developing a better understanding of environmental stewardship, and increasing community and social development through collaborative endeavors. School gardens also promote a healthy lifestyle and improve academic achievement. School gardens fit into the SNAP-Ed framework and help fulfill NY Common Pantry’s mission of reducing hunger throughout New York City, while promoting dignity and self-sufficiency.

*NYC DOE “Poverty” counts are based on the number of students with families who have qualified for free or reduced price lunch, or are eligible for Human Resources Administration (HRA) benefits.