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School Aid
Apples and Pears
You may have noticed the display of School Aid apples and pears on the patio and in the store. The program was started by one of our growers, John Jacobson of Mt. Hood Organics, who wanted to help support the Portland Public Schools. The proceeds from the sales of these apples and pears will be donated to student gardens at Chapman NW and Robert Gray in Hillsdale.
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Garden at Chapman School
As of Fall 2006, the vegetable garden located outside the SW corner of Chapman Elementary School had been in a state of disuse for several years. It was overgrown with weeds, and many of the 12 raised beds were falling apart. A group of parent volunteers organized an effort to restore the garden, so it could be enjoyed by Chapman schoolchildren and their families. Chapman families held work parties to clear the garden of weeds. Parent volunteers procured donations from local businesses. Parr Lumber donated cedar, which volunteers used to rebuild or repair several of the raised beds. Joy Creek Nursery donated compost to fills the beds, Trees By Joe donated bark chips to line the pathways, and Sauvie Island Organics donated plant starts. Portland Nursery continues to offer the school garden a generous discount each year. The West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District has sponsored fundraising efforts to benefit the garden, as well as providing curriculum support and helping match volunteers from the OSU Master Gardeners' Program. Now in its 5th year since its revival, the garden continues to thrive. Each fall and spring, parent and community volunteers bring small groups of classroom children out to the garden to dig in the soil, observe worms and insects, plant seeds and starts, and harvest fresh produce. Volunteers with food handlers' cards lead small groups of children in garden-related cooking projects in the school kitchen. The children share what they've made with their classmates. Popular, healthful snacks from the garden have included salsa, pesto, spinach salad, and zucchini bread. Greens from the garden are occasionally served on the salad bar in the school cafeteria as well. Every summer, Chapman families and community volunteers take turns tending the garden for a week at a time, keeping it watered and weeded so that there will be produce to harvest when the children return to school in the fall. The Chapman community greatly appreciates Food Front's generous offer to raise funds for the garden.
Garden at Robert Gray
The Robert Gray garden is comprised of twelve rectangular raised garden beds that were originally funded through grants awarded by Southwest Neighborhood House, Inc. We have been fortunate to have volunteers involved that included students, parents and teachers from Gray, Girl Scouts, community members (including a Master Gardener), and the SUN School coordinator, Linda White. (SUN = Schools Uniting Neighborhoods.) We may, in the future, also have volunteers from Wilson High School and employees from Food Front. The garden has provided spring flowers for the beautification of the school, but, more importantly, several hundred pounds of produce to the Neighborhood House Food Box Program. The students involved have not only achieved a sense of accomplishment seeing the fruits of their labor, but also in knowing they have helped provide nutritious meals for others.
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