Brookside Defenders of the Earth Farm Club

Our program started two years ago with a dream to have fresh veggies and fruits for our students K-5th grade to eat.   I found the food in the cafeteria to be less than healthy and saw students tossing tray after tray of food away.  Then, after speaking with students, we decided to grow our own food and SURPRISE if they grow it--they will eat it!!!  Students are eating broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, cucumbers and lots of salads with kale and spinach---foods they never would even try before.   We have a very supportive principal at our school who encourages us to grow and, as funding becomes available, we are doing just that.   We depend solely on parents and others in the community to keep the program going.  We've added a new and bigger "strawberry patch", our "faery garden" continues to expand as well as the "herb garden".   We are adding raised beds to have a Fall Pumpkin Patch.   When we started we had 20 students and now over 54 students weed, plant, hoe and harvest our organic crops.  They have learned about composting, water conservation, eating healthier and becoming awesome stewards of Mother Earth.