In addition to helping at the farmers market, Kevon Hess and Belinda Henderson oversee OKT’s food garden programs at homes and schools. Looks like families are going to have some good food this week!
School gardens are producing
Tag Archive | Program for Growth
Food plants almost ready!
Blandford Farm timed the planting of OKT’s starter food plants so they’d be ready to go in the ground right around Memorial Day.
“We are right on track. We were able to get almost all the herbs to germinate as well,” says Elizabeth Visser, Blandford Farm Manager. “I still need to pot up the mustard greens. They grow fairly quickly, so I seeded them later than some of the other greens. All the plants will be ready to pick up during the last week of May.”
OKT will be in touch with this year’s growers to let them know when and where they can pick up plants or expect delivery.
OKT’s Program for Growth at four local schools
Our Kitchen Table is thrilled to announce that we will be growing healthy organic food with more schools this spring, summer and fall. In addition to Glenwood Elementary School in Kentwood and Campus Elementary School in Grand Rapids, we will be back at Grand Rapids Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy and, for the first time, Grand Rapids Dickinson Elementary.
The Program for Growth not only enlists students in gardening. Their parents and caregivers are encouraged to volunteer in the garden and attend classes on healthy eating led by a registered dietitian. With direction from OKT peer garden coach Belinda Henderson, families who chose to are provided with organic food plants, soil, containers or raised beds, and coaching so they can grow their own food at home as well.
Program for Growth off to a good start!
Our Kitchen Table has planted food gardens at Grand Rapids Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy and Kentwood Public Schools Glenwood Elementary School, where several refugee families are growing vegetables and herb varieties that they selected themselves. Many households from both schools have opted to grow food at their residences, as well.
In addition, OKT is planting gardens with Arbor Circle Arbor Circle and Hope Network adult foster care homes and the Butterfly House, a residential group home for people living with HIV/AIDS.
OKT & friends planted Program for Growth food gardens at two schools
Our Kitchen Table launched its Program for Growth at two schools in May. We are again growing food with parents, caregivers, and students at Grand Rapids Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy and Kentwood Public Schools Glenwood Elementary School.
The photos show students, parents, and OKT food garden coaches planting the new food gardens.
The gardens provides programs for students in grades K-12, including garden education during school and as part of after-school and summer programs. Students grow food on school grounds, integrate garden activities into their curricula, and save and share seeds with community.
Program for Growth gardens growing strong!
Program for Growth gardens yielding produce
OKT’s Program for Growth is back twice as strong
| Our Kitchen Table has launched its Program for Growth at two schools this spring. We will again be growing food with parents, caregivers, and students at Grand Rapids Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy. And, we will be adding a new school — Kentwood Public Schools Glenwood Elementary School. |
| In addition to procuring organic foodplants from Blandford Farm, our food gardens will also be planted with home-grown starters from H.O.P.E. Gardens. H.O.P.E. Gardens provides programs for students in grades K-12, including garden education during school and as part of after-school and summer programs. Students grow food on school grounds, integrate garden activities into their curricula, and save and share seeds with community. |
KCAD graduate students design/build raised beds for OKT
On April 19, a group of graduate architecture students at Kendall College of Art and Design designed and built five large and two small raised garden-beds at Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy. After filling with organic composted soil, Our Kitchen Table Program for Growth participants planted the beds with organic vegetable starter plants on April 23 and 24.
Now the Program for Growth has even more space to grow nutritious food for students at school, their families and people in the neighborhood!
Special thanks to Stephanie Balke, owner, Balke Planning & Designs and Quentin Rauch, president, American Institute of Architecture Students.
Program for Growth gardens all set to feed families!
Participants of Our Kitchen Table’s Program for Growth are already harvesting some fresh, organic produce from their gardens and looking forward to an abundant summer season. Ms. Doris shares, “I have collards, turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and sweet herb [stevia]. I’m just loving it!”
Photo courtesy Miss Doris and Stephen Smith.
Our Kitchen Table 