SAN ANTONIO – Gardenia Gardens has been awarded a $46,963 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant to team up with local school districts and develop a curriculum centered on promoting healthy eating habits and sustainable agriculture.
The nonprofit provides programs and services to educational and other groups.
“We have been working with seven school districts in San Antonio, over 50 different sites. So, this is our home base. We do have field trips where students come here to Gardopia, but in addition to that we work directly with schools. So, everything we are doing here in the garden, from irrigation, to seasonal planting, to composting, to chickens and aquaponics, we are able to take it directly into the schools. So, what we will be doing is coordinating that at the highest level to scale. So hopefully, every student in San Antonio goes through garden-based learning,” said Steven Lucke, CEO and Founder of Gardopia Gardens.
The nonprofit located on the East Side of San Antonio is one of five Texas groups to receive a grant and could impact thousands of children in the community.
Lucke said he has observed a lot over the years while visiting school districts regarding nutrition in the community.
“A lot of us just don’t know how to eat properly. There’s all these fad diets. We just want to get back to the basics and teach people about nutrition and food literacy,” Lucke said.
Another project happening right now at Gardopia includes the construction of a new chicken coop with Turner Construction.
“We received a grant from HEB and Texas Food and Wine Alliance to build a brand new chicken coop and that’s important because we have chickens. And those eggs produce eggs for us and that is a great source of protein. They produce compost and they are good with pest management. And everybody loves the chickens. So, this state-of-the-art chicken coop, its going to have an incubation room, a rooster room,” Lucke said.