Donate early to double your impact. The first $2,500 donated will be matched!
A heartfelt testimonial from Mrs. Baer, a second-grade teacher, beautifully captures the inspiring influence of nature when students are given the chance to engage in the earth to table experience. She shared, “Thank you for your incredible work with the GROW garden. The students absolutely thrive in your hands-on learning environment. It is wonderful to see how your lessons directly inspire them to try, eat, and appreciate a broader range of nutritious foods. Their excitement when I announce that we have a GROW garden lesson shows how much they enjoy every lesson.”
Healthy eating can often be a challenge for many children, whether it's due to limited access or insufficient exposure to whole foods. During a garden lesson taste test, a third-grade student from North Woods Elementary exclaimed, "I don't even like tomatoes, but this is SO good!" This enthusiasm from students demonstrates that trying healthy, new foods in a supportive, hands-on setting truly makes a difference. Classroom teachers have echoed this sentiment, noting that their students are far more willing to explore new foods during and after GROW lessons.
Your support has been crucial in helping us create meaningful, awe-inspiring connections with healthy food and nature for the students we serve. While our mission has remained consistent over the years, our impact has grown significantly. Thanks to our strengthened partnership with the School District of La Crosse, students from three additional schools benefited from garden lessons this year. Over 2,800 students participated in these lessons, 1,434 students enjoyed greenhouse field trips, and hundreds more took part in outreach programs, including farm camp, summer garden parties, garden field trips, and the Kids Cooking Challenge. These figures reflect the strength of our outreach. The countless moments of discovery, confidence-building, and inspiration are the true indicators of the lasting impact of connecting youth to healthy food and nature.
This mission has always been community driven; from the grass roots efforts that lead to building of our first school garden to the strong partnerships we have built with the La Crosse and La Crescent School Districts and Western Technical College. Ensuring students have access to and knowledge of the food that fuels their learning and inspires them to live healthier lives is at the heart of each garden, greenhouse or farm experience. Right now, with more families facing food insecurity it is more important than ever that we continue to work together to keep these meaningful opportunities available for the students we serve.
To spark community support and to celebrate the power of garden education, Hydrite Chemical will match the first $2,500 donated to GROW, effectively doubling your gift and impact! We invite you to donate to a new year of inspiring good health in the next generation of environmental stewards.
Community support has enabled us to achieve so much. Please consider donating this giving season to support quality hands-on, garden-based learning that positively impacts the health of the youth we serve.
With great gratitude,
The GROW Team
