Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, I had a wonderful conversation with Emily Jackson about Growing Minds, the Farm to School Program she started back in 2002! It was one of the first Farm to School Programs in the country, and went on to form the basis for ASAP, the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project.

For anyone interested in starting a Farm to School Program, Emily recommends starting small, getting the “buy in” from other teachers and the community, and then growing from there. Lessons that can be sent home, that are easy to replicate, and that are simple to follow, are keys to getting families involved.

Emily is so passionate and believes deeply in the power of school gardens as a teaching tool. She doesn’t think there is anything that can’t be taught in the garden and believes every school should have a garden! I couldn’t agree with her more!! Because of Growing Mind’s desire to expand Farm to School nationwide, they offer all of their lesson plans and programming available for free on line. They even have Farm to School trainings and workshops that you can attend online while working from home.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Growing Minds has been putting out a Day to Day Lesson Plan, to help parents with their homeschooling responsibilities. Definitely check it out! Each week, there is a video of someone reading out loud a children’s nature book, both in English and in Spanish from their children’s literature list.  It is a real gift!

To learn more about Growing Minds and the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, listen to our interview here.

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