DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today highlighted opportunities for Iowa students and Iowa schools to become involved in the Iowa Farm to School program through the “A Garden is the Way to Grow” initiative.

“We continue to see growing interest and engagement by both schools and students in taking advantage of the wonderful foods we produce right here in Iowa. The Farm to School program is designed to give students access to these nutritious foods while also benefiting the local community and area farmers,” Northey said. “The ‘A Garden is the Way to Grow’ initiative is a great way for schools to get involved with the Farm to School program.”

For the past four years, one of our most popular initiatives has been “A Garden is the Way to Grow.” Each year we offer schools the opportunity to receive great gardening supplies to help establish or expand a school garden.

Last year alone, 54 schools applied to be a part of this growing opportunity. The result of these gardens in just one year impacted over 10,000 students. In addition to learning great gardening skills, many students had the opportunity to try a new fruit or vegetable for the first time.

This year, 23 schools around the state will not only be planting their school gardens, but they will also be creating their own compost as a part of the initiative.

For the schools that didn’t apply for a composter through the Farmer to School program, they can still order a composter at a reduced rate. Through a partnership with Garden Supply Company, any Iowa school wanting garden supplies can receive a 25% discount on anything in their catalog.

To receive this discount, schools may email Garden Supply Company at Sales-CA@gardeners.com, call 888-560-1037 or visit their website at gardeners.com/commercial.

Learn more about the “A Garden is the Way to Grow” initiative and other Farm to School opportunities by visiting the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Farm to School page at www.iowaagriculture.gov/AgDiversification/farmToSchoolProgram.asp.