Project Launch:

With a $497 grant from World Connect’s Kids to Kids Program in 2010, the Rehoboth Children's Home, Inc. (RCHI) residents and staff transformed a former weedy and vine covered half-acre lot into the RCHI Learning Farm. Sixty-four residents worked in teams and each team had the responsibility to plant an organic garden from which they will harvest for meals at the center. As the teams discussed crop selection, the staff at RCHI encouraged the residents to plant vegetables that could be used to prepare nutritious meals and snacks at the center. There were three phases to this project and each phase was planned and facilitated by children. Phase one included vegetable nutrition facts research, presentations, and team crop selections. Phase two included seed purchasing, planting, and maintaining the team gardens. Phase three involved the organization and implementation of team cooking demonstrations using vegetables grown on the RCHI Learning Farm. Teams of residents also contributed recipes to a recipe book that will be published and available to residents after the first growing season.