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Sisters Gabriella (front) and Damiemna Vachicco, members of Hempstead’s Rock Hall Children’s Garden Club, a summer gardening and sustainability program, received help from ( left to right) Stop & Shop’s Arlene Putterman, Jim McGinn, Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Stop & Shop’s Lindsay Shapiro on how to plant seeds in a garden.

The Stop & Shop representatives and Supervisor Murray taught more than a dozen youngsters about the importance of caring for and nurturing the earth and soil which when cared for properly provides us with our food. The children learned how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce and ultimately understand the health benefits of being able to eat what we grow. The youngsters planted: broccoli, basil, snap peas, pumpkins, soy beans, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, eggplant and zucchini.