EDIBLE SCHOOL &
COMMUNITY GARDENS
BACKGROUND
Slow Food Miami began its school garden program in 2007. At that time, Slow Food Miami gave six schools the materials, expertise and assistance to install and care for organic gardens using the Square Foot Gardening Method.
The program is modeled after the work of Alice Waters in Berkeley, California. Alice Waters, a leader of the Slow Food movement in the United States built an Edible School Yard at a local school and started the initiative ”Plant a Thousand Gardens”. As of 2010 Slow Food Miami funded 850+ Garden Beds in public and private schools across Dade County, along with several community gardens.
Funding for the School Garden program comes directly from local food events, individual donors and corporate sponsors.
PURPOSE
The goal of Slow Food Miami’s Edible Garden Program is to create student–centered organic vegetable gardens and to introduce students to the pleasures of good, clean food and to teach basic garden skills. With the combination of a garden grant, installation support, school incorporated curriculums and volunteer follow up, Slow Food Miami seeks to develop improved nutritional practices, plant-to-food awareness, and an understanding of sustainable environmental processes.
The edible school program is an effort to address childhood nutrition issues such as malnutrition and obesity and encourages a healthy, respectful attitude towards food. In addition, garden centered programs on a school campus affect the school habitat by changing the landscape of schools which often lack interactive and healthful environments specific to South Florida.