Greenport School, Community Garden Seeks 'Seeds of Change' Grant

NORTH FORK, NY - A community garden at Greenport Schools could flourish even more beautifully with the help of a contest that's awarding $300,000 in grants.

The "Seeds of Change" grant program is awarding two schools and two communities each $20,000 grants, and 10 schools and 10 communities each $10,000 grants.

A $5,000 "Garden Ambassador Award" will be given to each of the four individuals who submitted the selected $20,000 grants.

Those wishing to participate can vote now and help to determine the Top 50 garden projects from which the 24 final grant recipients will be selected.

Participants may vote only once per calendar day, per entry, from March 31 to April 18, 2016.

Greenport School Superintendent David Gamberg describes how the grant would be used, should the district win:

"This grant would allow our school garden to grow and become a focus for the health and wellness for both the children and families of our community," he said. "At present, the school garden is very small and located in back portion of the school property. This grant would enable our school to substantially increase the size of the garden and relocate it to the front portion of the campus, thus encouraging greater participation by families and civic groups in the neighborhood."

He added, "As a school community with over 70 percent of our student population eligible for free or reduced lunch, we must promote healthy eating in an effort to give our students a better opportunity to learn and thrive both in and outside of school. This grant will help educate students and their families through a summer camp component, printed brochures, mailings, creating 'how to' videos, conducting cooking classes, and sharing resources with our neighboring school district, Southold, which already has a thriving school garden."

To vote for Greenport Schools, click here.

To learn more about Seeds of Change, click here.