Joseph School District plants the seeds for a student-run garden
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
JOSEPH – Joseph students will have a chance to get their thumbs green and their hands dirty this summer. On March 13, 2024, the Joseph School District announced it had received a competitive Farm to Child Nutrition Program Education Grant worth $99,973. With these funds in hand, the district is building a school garden and pumpkin patch to be cared for by students this summer. As described by Joseph’s Child Nutrition Program Manager Miranda Micka:
“The focus is to hopefully grow pumpkins so that this fall, for our harvest feast, we can hand out pumpkins to the kids and they can take them home, carve them, or participate in our carving contest at the school. Then, we hope to get some other produce into our school cafeteria as well, such as onions or potatoes and different herbs.
The district recently interviewed candidates for two paid student internships to assist with the garden. Once selected, these students will care for the garden over the summer, work with the local farmers’ market, and help with harvest feast activities in the fall. Of course, it’s not just these interns that are involved either. On April second, the district invited local pre-kindergarten students to help plant the first pumpkin seeds.
Speaking of pumpkins, as mentioned by Micka, the students will grow pumpkins in the garden’s raised beds for the first year to test the viability of the garden. After this trial crop, the garden will be expanded to include other produce to supplement the school’s lunch program.
