Vote for ArtSpace’s Good Food Garden NOW

Help ArtSpace get a $10,000 Good Food Grant by going online and voting. But hurry: There’s a June 18 deadline.

At least 5,000 groups jumped into the running when Readers Digest, the Food Network and the nonprofit Share Our Strength joined hands to offer five Good Food grants to schools and community groups around the United States. Local charter school ArtSpace made the final eight and could win $10,000 to start its own edible “good foods” garden.

The school serves about 350 students from both urban and rural settings, spanning five counties. About one-third of them fall below the poverty level, and 20 percent are served through ArtSpace’s “Exceptional Children’s Program” (special education), school officials report. ArtSpace doesn’t receive funding for student nutrition; all students must pack their own lunches.

Although ArtSpace partners with local Manna FoodBank to help provide food to families in need, the Good Food Garden grant allows experiential learning through measuring and weighing each plants’ production, testing water/soil quality and composition, and graphing the rotation of plantings throughout the garden. The grant also offers a therapy tool for the Exceptional Children’s Program, and it lets ArtSpace expand its after-school cooking program — Eating Through the Rainbow! — to focus on local, seasonal crops.

An edible classroom would give students a chance to see first-hand where food comes from, and it will keep them engaged and physically active in the garden as they hoe, weed, plant, and harvest, say school leaders. A Good Food garden at ArtSpace would also serve as a hub of activity and interaction for the school’s families: Opportunities for monthly community dinners, distribution of extra food through a farm stand, and giving back to the local food bank all further the goals of service and good citizenship. Students would have the opportunity to share their gained knowledge in preserving our mountain heritage (canning, sun-drying, pickling, dyeing) by taking part in local fairs.

ArtSpace has the space: a grassy area to the side of its athletic field, where there’s water access and full sun. The school needs merely a building permit and your vote: Click here.

– Margaret Williams

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.