Good to Grow



Maida Dantzler, President of the Garden Club of South Carolina, Inc., has chosen Good to Grow as a statewide project during her administration. The Good to Grow program teaches school-age children, their parents, and communities not only how to grow their own food, but how to make healthy food choices.

The idea for this project came about for many reasons. Most importantly, it involves our youth. Childhood obesity is at an all time high and is affecting not only the health of our children, but their ability to learn. One way we can take a positive step towards controlling this issue is through education. By volunteering our talents in the school system via gardening, we can teach families how to grow food that is nutritionally valuable, while having fun and reinforcing school curriculums in reading, science, and math.

As we impress the children of South Carolina to learn more about the food that fuels their bodies, they'll be better equipped to make smarter food choices. When youth are involved in growing fresh fruits and vegetables, they'll have the opportunity to taste something they might otherwise have refused or never have been offered! In turn, it is our hope that the children will inspire their families to garden at home too.

The economic downturn has already stimulated interest in home vegetable gardens and interest and educational programming is at an all-time high in many schools across the nation.

Maida Dantzler would like to challenge each garden club in South Carolina, to initiate or mentor an established school or community garden in their area. Children love to plant seeds and love to see them grow. They also love the extra attention we as gardeners give to them. Our Good to Grow program could be part of a youth garden club or a new activity for your club.

Rebecca Bull Reed, Associate Gardening Editor for Southern Living magazine is assisting me with this project. Please use this site as a guide to answer questions or to stay on track as you and your club organize this potentially life-changing venture for South Carolina families.

To good health and much fun!

Donna Hummelman

Good to Grow Chairman

hummersct@yahoo.com

Submit

23rd August 2011

Need Funding?

Good to Grow Chairman Donna Hummelman shares her ideas:

Many businesses and organizations are especially in favor of supporting educational projects via grants. The grants might be local or they might involve applying to a national organization. Some grants are small while other could mean thousands of dollars, depending on the scope of your project. And often, charity begins right at home: don’t forget to ask your local garden centers if they would be happy to donate soil, mulch, seeds, etc. To paraphrase a popular phrase, …you can’t win if you don’t apply!

Keep in mind grant applications can take a little time to complete. All grants have deadlines and most have specific project guidelines to qualify for their awards. Make sure that your ideas meet the project criteria.

1. Sometimes PTO/PTA’s have funds available that can be used towards the school garden
2. Local Sponsorship from gardening/plant stores in your area can also be a good place tostart.
3. Local branches of some of the big “Box Stores” have a budget for community projects so it’s always worth checking. i.e. Lowes, Home Depot, and even Best Buy and Target.
4. I’ve also read of Fuel Pizza sponsoring a school garden.
5. Local Authorities, (such as environmental and recycle), County Extension Offices, Master Gardener’s, and local garden clubs sometimes have resources available for gardening projects involving children. Also try the Health Department in your County or town.

The internet has a large collection of sources. Here is just a small sample of what I
found in just a few minutes by searching on Google.

Kidsgardening.org - a GREAT place to start!

Pepsi

Subaru

2012 Youth Garden Grants

Lowes

Mantis

Whole Foods