HFHK partners with Colonial School District's Nutrition Services on Penn Farm Teaching Garden

Thanks to the Colonial School District’s Nutrition Services, we are able to provide garden and farm education to more Delaware children, even those whose school does not currently have an HFHK vegetable gardening program. Colonial School District’s Nutrition Services secured a two-year Specialty Crop Block grant from the State of Delaware to start a teaching garden at Historic Penn Farm.

The idea behind the grant proposal was the brainchild of Nutrition Outreach Specialist, Scott Schuster in conjunction with Farm to School Manager, Toby Hagerott. Both Scott and Toby had a strong desire to provide farm field trips to Colonial School District students so they would have an opportunity to visit a working farm and learn how their food is grown. HFHK’s role has been to develop lessons relating to the science curriculum and conduct tours along with Farmer Toby.

During summer and fall 2018, hundreds of students from Wilmington Manor, Wilbur and Southern Elementary Schools and Scout troops from around the area visited the farm. At the farm, the students have an opportunity to integrate information on the interdependence of living things, by learning about vegetable gardening, pollinators, and farm animals such as goats, chickens, turkeys, and geese.