Watkins Elementary School

The garden is central to success of our FoodPrints program, which aims to integrate hands-on learning about healthy, nutritious eating into DC elementary schools. For the past 4 years we have partnered with FRESHFARM Markets to involve Watkins students with growing, harvesting, cooking and eating fresh, nutritious, local foods in an effort to change their attitudes toward and willingness to eat those foods. We now have a large fenced in vegetable garden, a teaching kitchen, 3 paid part-time teachers, and a curriculum that supports the applicable learning standards. This year FoodPrints classes will be offered to all of the approximately 500 students at Watkins. We also reach parents by sending home information and recipes from each class, and by conducting workshops on healthy eating specifically for parents. This grant will enable us to improve our garden and its productivity by installing an environmentally friendly and cost-saving drip irrigation system.

This program is supported by Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA.