Portland High School

In an effort to promote lifelong, healthy habits for our students & a sense of community service, the idea of “Get Healthy: A Panther Community Garden” was conceived. The garden will be operated by students on school grounds, with future plans for a Farmer’s Market open to the community. The goal of this garden is sustainable supplementation of fresh fruits & vegetables to the Panther Pantry (food pantry for underprivileged PHS students currently serving 50 students). Most of the food items that are donated to the pantry are of little nutritional value; high starch & high fat content are prevalent. Most of the students that benefit from our pantry rarely, if ever, have fresh fruits & vegetables in their home. We have a responsibility to try to help change conditions that lead to bad health habits; nutrition is key in this. Not only are we supplying fresh fruits & vegetables, but we are modeling community service within our own community of Portland High School. It is the goal to increase the students/families to 100 the first year. The greenhouse will be utilized to produce fruits and vegetables to supply the Panther Pantry year round.