REACH school

• This grant will make it possible for all 50 students enrolled at REACH school, many of which have some form of developmental delay (i.e. autism, downs syndrome, fragile X, etc.), to build an awareness of where their food comes from. Many of our students consider the grocery store to be the main source for food and produce, and as educators we find this very problematic. The edible garden grant would enable us to provide hands on opportunity for our students to learn about the cycles of food production, and they would participate in every step along the way, from seed to soil. Our garden would focus on growing vegetables and herbs, which would be used to support the students’ current cooking programs. The cooking program and the garden initiative would become self-sustainable because any compostable materials remaining after the meal would be added to the compost. The edible garden would help support our healthy eating initiative at school by exposing our students to new foods, especially for those individuals who have limited income and/or access to healthy foods.