REC program gets preschoolers outside and gardening, focusing on food justice
WORCESTER — Director of programs Grace Sliwoski led dozens of area preschool students around the Regional Environmental Council's YouthGROW farm Tuesday morning, tucked away at 63 Oread St.
As preschoolers squatted down and examined vegetables growing in the ground, Sliwoski explained the importance of organic, locally sourced food.
"Getting kids outside is incredibly important, but also the heart of a lot of our work is we want people to understand where their food comes from," Sliwoski said. "We want kids, at the earliest possible age, to understand how food is grown, where it's coming from and get them excited about trying different foods."
After receiving funding from the United Way of Central Massachusetts, the REC began a program hosting preschool students enrolled in the Worcester Head Start program and Worcester Public Schools as part of the organization's School Garden programming. The School Garden's Farm to Early Childhood Project provides curriculum, garden support and enrichment activities for preschool partners and head starts in Worcester.
A preschool student eyed a couple of dandelions in the grass, picked them and handed a small bouquet to her teacher.
"That student saw beauty here in the middle of an urban neighborhood," United Way of Central Massachusetts CEO Tim Garvin said. "If that translates and carries over forever, we've changed a lot. That doesn't happen just once when they come to visit. It's the repetition and the dosage that transforms lives."
It all started in 2020 after Garvin received news from Mackenzie Scott, American novelist and philanthropist, offering a $5 million donation for the United Way. With some of the funds, the organization created the Worcester Community Challenge, which focused on early education, disrupting and ending poverty, while promoting diversity and inclusion. Each recipient received between $10,000 and $30,000.
About 100 community organizations applied. Garvin said the REC "hit it out of the park" with its presentation.
"It was about early education, inclusion, disrupting poverty. It was about teaching kids the value and importance of food and food production at a young age so they could not only know it forever but also take it home to their parents," Garvin said.
In the summer of 2021, the REC hosted a "toddler-sized" farmers market at Polar Park. It ran the market as a pilot program, helping toddlers identify fruits and vegetables. It was an interactive event, Sliwoski said, and preschool teachers thought it was a good and effective educational opportunity.
"Our staff really felt like this was something we could run with," Sliwoski said. "That was the seed that gave us the idea for the program. So when this opportunity came up with the challenge grant, we thought it was a chance for us to really go deep with the preschool age group."
The initiative began in January 2022. Coming out of the pandemic, Sliwoski said this was the kind of program early education teachers wanted.
"We're learning about our community helpers, friends and how a farm is not just for people picking vegetables to send to the supermarket," Greendale Head Start teacher Marion Saunders said. "They've never seen something like this, living in an urban area. We want them to associate that this isn't just growing flowers. It's real food that will nourish your body."
The REC now works with all four Head Start programs in Worcester and 12 other preschools in the area.
"We've really taken a deep dive with head start in particular. It's over 400 students They're some of the lowest-income families in Worcester," Sliwoski said. "Students are coming in with a lot of need for wraparound support. I think what's been really exciting for us this year is we're trying to expand. Not just do programming in the classroom, in the garden and here on the farm, but to connect with parents."
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: The REC's school garden program aims to educate beyond the classroom
