Garden to Zoo and Produce for Pantries pilot projects off to a great start!
We just completed our first Garden to Zoo harvest for 2012. Four of our DPS schools are participating in this pilot project. Here is a first-hand account from Andy Nowak, our Projects Director.
Due to the early warm weather, Smith Elementary had plenty of Swiss chard and kale ready to harvest and no immediate need for the produce in the school. Thanks to Sadie and Lindsay at Smith, we were able to engage 10 ECE kids in the harvest of the greens. The kids sampled the greens (Swiss chard was more favored than kale) and they also sampled some snow peas from the garden. The kids first washed their hands and we used sanitized baskets to pick the greens. We are now verifying that all the kids have media releases so we can share pictures.
Andy then delivered the greens to Zookeeper Rick at the zoo. In total we had 10 pounds of Swiss chard and 3 pounds of kale. Rick shared with us that this produce would go the gorillas that day or the next. The keepers scatter the greens on the ground as the gorillas are foragers and will want to “find” the greens. Rick predicts that the gorillas will enjoy both types of greens.
Several of our gardens have this early produce so we will try to continue these harvests through the summer. Rick says he can take a bunch more each week, so we will make that happen. These harvests will allow the garden leaders to pull up these greens and replant to be ready for the fall harvests.
Thanks everyone for your support and efforts to make this program happen. We will be ready for the official start of the program in September.
Andy also made the first Produce for Pantries delivery, part of this new program from Slow Food Denver and other area groups. Here’s his description:
Many of our school gardens are bursting with produce. Today I was at McGlone Elementary in the Montbello neighborhood. I harvested 7 bags of chard and romaine and 4 summer squash. The local pantry was not accepting donations today, so I went to Denver Urban Ministries (DENUM) instead, closer to my house. I was greeted very warmly by Jennifer Stone and she was very excited for the produce. Their shelves were empty of fresh produce. She gave me a nice tour of the facility and explained how they are trying to improve the nutritional content of their donated food. She expected the produce to be gone within a couple of hours. All together they credited us with 9 pounds of produce.
Overall, the experience was very nice. DENUM is convenient for several of our school gardens and even from my house. I expect to be making weekly trips!
How awesome is that?
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