In mid-April, Franklin Pierce School District’s Natural Science Resource Center (The Farm) was awarded a $200,000 grant to support efforts to deliver high quality produce from the farm to school cafeterias year round. Our Veggie Co-op program, a community food project driven by volunteers, is hosted at The Farm and will likewise benefit from these grant dollars.

Harvest Pierce County is a proud partner with the School District and The Farm and is excited to see this initiative continue to grow and prosper. Special thanks to Sly Boskovich, Matt Price, Lisa Chatterton, and Robin Heinrichs for their hard work in preparing this successful grant application!

The grant will fund:

• Retrofitting and modernizing a 30x60ft greenhouse on The Farm to be used by Veggie Co-op and students. 
• Installing a GAP certified wash station for The Farm including a bubble washer, root washer, spray tables, and sinks to be used by Veggie Co-op and students. 
• Purchasing 300 new harvest and storage bins. Additional high tunnel coverage on The Farm to allow for growth of fresh veggies over the winter months. 
• Building a Large “teaching greenhouse” (45x100ft) on the Washington HS/Keithly MS campus that will allow students to grow fresh salad greens and microgreens for their cafeterias on site, as well as provide outdoor classroom space. 
• Purchase equipment for nutrition services to make processing and using farm produce easier.