The national nonprofit is expanding a program to provide fresh, healthy food in Garfield Heights City Schools, thanks to a federal grant.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides about $340,000 to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land for its Garfield Heights Grows program, a collaborative program with Rid-All Green Partnership, Garfield Heights City Schools and the Ohio State University Extension.
Funds from the grant will go toward buying farm equipment, a greenhouse and a hydroponic lab for the students. The goals of the program are to provide high school students with fresh, locally sourced foods and hands-on learning opportunities about the farming industry.
Garfield Heights was chosen for the grant due to the school district鈥檚 previous commitment to agriculture, said , the Ohio State Director for Trust for Public Land.
鈥淭here were already a number of mission-aligned partners at the table,鈥� Terry said. 鈥淲e saw ... an opportunity to help speed along the timeline by helping the school district make the investment in agricultural infrastructure on the grounds.鈥�
The program also exposes kids to careers in farming.
鈥淚 think this base in agriculture is going to give them a ton of options that they may not have already thought about,鈥� Terry said.
Garfield Heights has seen rising rates of poverty and obesity in recent years. According to , 22% of Garfield Heights residents live in poverty and 44% are considered .
鈥淪o there's a direct correlation to what people are currently eating and their current health status,鈥� Terry said. He said teaching kids how to grow and cook with healthy food could also help improve the health of their families.
The program will begin with high school students, but there are plans to expand the program to middle school students in the future.
鈥淢y hope is that through a strong proof of concept at the high school ... we can make the case that additional investment is needed,鈥� Terry said.
