“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn
bushes, all of the plants are something that can be found naturally growing in South Carolina. I am fortunate to say that all of our local vendors came through with not only great products, but also great pricing. Now it was time to start reaching out for volunteers. We utilize social media and the school’s parental/guardian email system to notify people of our three big workday needs. Sprouts Marketplace was doing a special event of 24 in 24. This meant that they would help 24 schools across the nation in 24 hours to build a school garden through their grant. Monarch Elementary was the only school chosen in South Carolina to be awarded this grant! With that said, we were on a deadline to meet the date that Sprouts wanted to host their event. This was such a huge project, that we needed two work days before the big 24 in 24 event. On the day of Sprouts’ event, Sprouts volunteers and local volunteers came to the school to help us dig holes, build garden beds, assemble compost tumblers, move mulch, and plant over 160 plants in the ground! This required some prep of the grounds before the deadline. So we reached out to schools in the area that had students who needed volunteer hours, local churches, people in our community, and members of the school. It is absolutely true the saying “many hands make light work”, and we were ready to go on the day of Sprouts’ big event! After many hours, and the help of so many wonderful people, our garden officially opened! We wanted to do a ribbon-cutting event, as a way to signify to all of the
teachers and staff in the garden, that the garden was now ready for the students to use. We assigned each grade level a raised bed box for them to be responsible for. The garden was finished by late September, so we went with some of our more fall and cold hardy plants in the beds to start. I also specifically chose vegetables that the children may have never seen in their natural form before. Broccoli is always a fun one to grow with students, not only because it is such a neat looking plant, but also, it is always exciting to see the students’ reaction when they learn that they eat the flower part of the plant! I will be working with the STEAM teacher to rotate crops in seasonally. Our Cafeteria Manager will also be involved in the harvesting and food prep of the produce. We do make it very clear to all of the teachers, that once the produce is harvested, it is then the responsibility of the
kitchen staff to prepare the food as they are the ones trained in proper food safety and sanitation. In honor of Farm to School Month, we are harvesting our first round of lettuces to be used on the salad bar for the entire school! I will forever be grateful to all of the people that helped make this school garden a reality and grateful for all the lessons I learned along the way. As you can see from the pictures, a truly magical space was built for students for decades to come!
Lauren has been in school nutrition for over 12 years and absolutely loves it! She is the Culinary Specialist for Food and Nutrition Services and is also a registered dietitian; received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Western Carolina University; completed her dietetic internship at Indiana University Perdue University of Indianapolis; and obtained her SNS certification in 2016. She is zealous about changing the face of school meals and letting the public know about the amazing work being done on a daily basis. One of her favorite aspects about her line of work is teaching nutrition education and healthy lifestyles with a focus on Farm to School initiatives. Greenville Public Schools (SC) Lauren Couchois, RD, SNS
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