Orlando Day School

Orlando Day School and Orlando Day Nursery Association, Inc. (ODN) are located in Parramore, a local food desert with three homeless shelters and a number of weekly rental hotels used by homeless families. Most of our school age children are homeless. Their main sources for food are the 7-11 and Burger King within walking distance of our school. ODN seeks to help these children develop a love for vegetables and fresh fruit while showing them and their families that these items can be grown to supplement their diets. Our school garden is planted each fall and spring by the children. The food grown is used for nutrition education programs in our school and sent home for them to eat over the weekends as part of our backpack program. Additionally, ODN provides parent education courses including how to raise container gardens. We give families buckets with soil and seeds to help them grow their own vegetables at home. Last year we made salad gardens with lettuce and cherry tomato plants.