Program will promote garden-based learning opportunities

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that Wash. St. Univ. will develop and run the People's Garden School Pilot Program which will serve an estimated 2,800 students attending 70 elementary schools in Washington, New York, Iowa and Arkansas. The Healthy Gardens, Healthy Youth pilot aims to help the country win the future through improved K-12 education. It explores the impact of school gardens on learning and on changing student consumption patterns so they make healthier food choices.
The program is part of the USDA People’s Garden Initiative which establishes community and school gardens across the U.S. to help unite neighborhoods in a common effort and inspire simple solutions to challenges facing the country from hunger to the environment.
The $1 million pilot program is authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The schools selected to participate in this program come from urban, suburban, and rural communities and have at least 50% of their students qualified to receive free or reduced-price school meals.