by Adam Davenport, Grow Education Program Manager

We are privileged to add a new teammate to our Grow Education program. Shalynn Brooks, ‘Shay,’ has joined us in a Garden Maintenance role for the summer.  Come August, Shay will stay on our team as one of three FoodCorps members! Here is a note from Shay:

“I’m from Fall River, MA, and graduated from Bristol Community College in Fall River with a Liberal Arts: Behavioral & Social Science Associate Degree. I’m currently working towards my Bachelor’s in Social Work at Bridgewater State University. Wanting to create a space where organic foods and urban gardens are available to all of Fall River residents and places similar to my city is what made my passion for food justice grow. My faith in the youth and their imaginative abilities to create a new future is what pushed me to choose this type of job.”

We are also excited to announce that the Grow Education program has received a two-year Farm to School Implementation grant from the USDA! Read the project posting below, and the full National press release in the link here.

Marion Institute – $98,237 Marion, Massachusetts Grant Type: Implementation

The Marion Institute will develop the Grow Education farm to school curriculum, including curriculum development and teacher training. In addition, this project will expand a comprehensive Farm to School Program across the New Bedford Public School District, providing 3rd graders with hands-on, agricultural education and school meals featuring locally grown foods to more than 14,000 students.

The weather has heated up, which means Grow Education’s work continues with a good mix of garden maintenance and planning for next year’s programming! We are preparing programming for ‘Cohort 2’, an additional six elementary schools (Renaissance, Carney, Pulaski, Brooks, Swift and Ashley) that will be integrating Grow’s Farm to School programming throughout the 2021-2022 school year. This initiates with a professional development workshop in late August and the construction of new gardens at each of these schools from August through September.