Backyard Growers is helping to reshape Gloucester’s relationship with food. They provide resources and support to establish vegetable gardens at homes, housing communities, organizations, and schools. Since 2010, Backyard Growers has built over 150 raised bed gardens, serving hundreds of Gloucester residents. Backyard Growers leads a unique program that gives 100% of Gloucester’s Pre-K through 6th grade public school students the opportunity to plant, harvest, and eat two garden crops a year, in collaboration with the Gloucester Public School School Food Service Department. The program includes Salad Days, where students plant leaf lettuce varieties that they harvest and enjoy in June, and Fall Harvest Days, where each grade level plants a specific fall crop that is harvested and enjoyed in the cafeteria when students return in the fall.

What’s next for BYG? The unique Salad Days/Fall Harvest Days school garden model has caught the attention of several other Massachusetts schools and school districts and Backyard Growers is consulting with them to implement the program in their schools over the next season!m.

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Backyard Growers

Backyard Growers

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