Wesminster CCS - Watch Our Garden Grow!

I am the Executive Chef of the Westminster Community Charter School in Buffalo, New York.  It is a very low-income area and we have an 88% Free & Reduced lunch rate.  We have three chefs on staff, as well as 5 part-time employees.  We prepare fresh, from-scratch meals for about 500 children every day.  I took over the kitchen in 2010 and changed the lunchroom from a processed foods only kitchen to one that only prepares homemade and fresh foods.  We make our peanut butter and strawberry preserves, pizzas, granola, as well as every dish on the school lunch menu.

There is an empty lot outside our kitchen door where a crack-house once stood.  It was razed two years ago and it's been my dream to turn that lot into a garden/nursery  where we could harvest foods all year long.  With Buffalo's weather patterns, an enclosed space would be the only way to do this. 

Our school is partnered with M&T Bank, which has supported the school since 1993.  The CEO of M&T is Robert G. Wilmers and he has also offered his full support of putting a real garden in place.  One that would be integrated into the whole school as part of the curriculum and one that could produce food that we could use in the preparation of our meals.  We want to involve our students in every way possible in this garden so that they can learn about the relationships of the earth, the foods we eat and how eating healthier will make them feel.  We want them to help tend to the garden, as well as help harvest what they've grown and help prepare it for the school.

I would appreciate any and all information & resources you could provide on how to get this started.  I can be reached at 716-816-3456 or by email at mrrera@buffaloschools.org.