Macomb Food Initiatives Group » School Food http://macombfig.org/blog Growing a local food system Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:57:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 FIG Helps Plant Gardens At Lincoln School http://macombfig.org/blog/2010/04/21/fig-helps-plant-gardens-at-lincoln-school/ http://macombfig.org/blog/2010/04/21/fig-helps-plant-gardens-at-lincoln-school/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:12:18 +0000 Dan Barclay http://macombfig.org/blog/?p=329 WIU professors Dr. Heather McIlvaine-Newsad and Dr. Joel Gruver and FIG helped several teachers at Lincoln School establish container gardens during the warm weather in April.

Dr. Heather McIlvaine-Newsad and students plan their garden.

The students in Mrs. Standley’s and Miss Hentzel’s third grade classes and Mrs. Streit’s first grade class all got to taste carrots and lettuce, mix soil, and plant seeds in container gardens constructed from kiddie-sized plastic swimming pools.  FIG provided funds for the pools, seeds and watering cans.

FIG Chair Dan Barclay mixes soil with the students.

Dr. Gruver provided the soil, seeds, and lettuce starts.

The students and Dr. Gruver prepare the garden for planting.

Dr. McIlvaine-Newsad provided seeds, snack carrots and lettuce.

Everyone wants seeds!

The students had a lot of fun and will now get to learn something about what it takes to keep a garden growing.  The lettuce, radishes and flowers are all sprouted and thriving.  The students will be able to harvest some of those crops before school is out in early June.  The carrots are up as well, but they will not be ready to harvest until mid-summer.

]]> http://macombfig.org/blog/2010/04/21/fig-helps-plant-gardens-at-lincoln-school/feed/ 0 Gardening and nutrition programs expanding in the schools http://macombfig.org/blog/2009/12/21/gardening-and-nutrition-programs-expanding-in-the-schools/ http://macombfig.org/blog/2009/12/21/gardening-and-nutrition-programs-expanding-in-the-schools/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:01:13 +0000 Dan Barclay http://macombfig.org/blog/?p=250 One of the best ways to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States is with nutrition and gardening programs that are integrated into schools.  One such program is giving children in Washington, D.C. a chance to taste garden-grown winter spinach (cool weather spinach is sweeter!) in an after-school program that includes a trip to the White House garden as well as kitchen lessons provided by a chef and other interested volunteers. With more and more McDonough County families struggling to put food on the table and with convenient junk food so readily accessible it only makes sense for schools in our area to incorporate more gardening and nutrition information into the curriculum.

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