Schoolyard Sprouts

Schoolyard Sprouts™ originated in the fall of 2007 as the Little Sprouts Garden at the Morningside Kindergarten campus. In 1998, Seed-n-Feed was created through community support from Murphy's Restaurant, Whole Foods Market Briarcliff, Farmer D Organics and Georgia State University. At Morningside Elementary gardening and farm to school became a school health and wellness initiative resulting in a Bronze Award from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in 2009. Morningside was recently featured by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle in the announcement of a statewide school heatlh initiave. This year we have grown into the name Schoolyard Sprouts™. The foundation now provides gardening and farm to school programming at both Morningside and Springdale Park Elementary. We have been a resource and have provided information to help numerous other local programs get sprouting. Children at both schools participate by planting, caring for and harvesting the garden. Local chefs demonstrate how to prepare the food we grow and the children taste what the chef has prepared. The garden provides an experiential learning opportunity to further explore the Georgial Performance Standards. It is a perfect setting to learn about making healthy eating choices, locally grown produce, and environmental stewardship. This year Schoolyard Sprouts™ is entering into exciting new areas. They include: *student exposure across all grade levels to the garden with integrated curriculum and tastings *parent and teacher education *improving the food served in the cafeteria *educational and fundraising events throughout the year To learn more about our program visit www.schoolyardsprouts.org.