Children of the Garden


Some of the kids in my community are living in poverty. Through no fault of their own they come to school hungry. A few have slept in tents. A few have slept in vehicles and abandoned buildings. Some are living in travel trailers that have become permanent homes. This post isn’t about their parents and their circumstances, or the root causes of this kind of poverty—that’s for another time. This is about the kids.

For these children, school is kind of a haven. Sure, school is about learning and sometimes that can be hard—but school is also laughter, togetherness, food, and a future that is being built beyond their home life.




Years ago, Barb, an energetic and compassionate elementary teacher, envisioned a garden where “her” kids could learn to grow food. In our rural area gardens grow spectacularly well. So, she wrote a grant and literally got seed money to begin. Other teachers joined in the effort. It really became a school-wide thing. Some parents and community volunteers helped too.




Students have learned science, horticulture, nutrition, and good old fashioned hard work as they sowed and reaped. 


Some kids may not have much at home, but here in the garden they are learning about life cycles and nurturing what they plant. The joy they experience as they harvest what they’ve grown is magical. 




We can lament poverty, as we should. We can pour money into programs to help, and we do. But teaching children to grow a garden gives them an opportunity to get away from computer screens. Perhaps these children of the garden are being shown that in order to thrive they themselves need to be planted first—in the soil of goodness.





These kids don’t have to remain in poverty as adults—and part of the solution may be found by digging in the dirt. They’ll grow up with a greater appreciation for where their food comes from—the work required for it to grow, and how good it tastes when you grow it yourself. In a broken child’s world, this is a balm for wounded hearts.


Thank you Barb for helping our community kids learn to grow good things as they grow up. It's a small plot of ground, but hope is spouting, and a future is budding. And I thank all the teachers who inspire today’s children for tomorrow’s world. 




Picture #1 from Ben Wicks/Unsplash

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