The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is pleased to announce that a total of 88 grants have been approved for funding of $37,500 through the Arkansas School Garden Grant Program and the Arkansas Taste Test Grant Program.
“School gardens and taste tests have proven to be valuable tools in teaching children about agriculture, nutrition, and a variety of skills. The lessons learned through these programs can have a lasting impact on children, their families, and entire communities,” said Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward.
The Arkansas School Garden Grant Program was established to help schools start or expand gardens on school grounds. The Department will award $500 grants to the schools to purchase soil, specialty crop seeds and plants, and gardening equipment. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture recognizes the following 62 schools as grantees of the Arkansas School Garden Grant Program:
● Cook Elementary School, Fort Smith
● Cotter High School, Cotter
● Crestwood Elementary, North Little
● Anne Watson Elementary, Bigelow
● Archford Crossroads West, Atkins
● Armorel High School, Armorel*
● Baseline Bilingual School, Little Rock*
● Bayyari Elementary School, Springdale
● Bobby Barrett Elementary, Mount Ida*
● Bright Beginnings Learning Center, Inc., Arkadelphia*
● Butterfield Trail Elementary, Fayetteville
● Cabot High School, Cabot
● Cabot Middle School South, Cabot*
● CCCEC Step by Step EIDT, Perryville
● Cedarville Elementary School, Cedarville*
● Centers for Youth and Families, Little Rock*
● Charleston Middle School, Charleston
● Civilian Student Training Program, North Little Rock
● Clarksville Head Start, Clarksville
● Clinton High School, Clinton
● Clover Community School, Bentonville
● Des Arc High School, Des Arc
● Drew Central Elementary, Monticello*
● Early Childhood Education Program at Trinity Cathedral, Little Rock*
● Elmdale Elementary School, Springdale
● Emmanuel Learning Center for Children, Jacksonville
● Eureka Springs Middle School, Eureka Springs
● Flightline Upper Academy, Little Rock
● Genoa Central School District, Texarkana
● Good Earth Learning Center, Austin*
● Greenwood Preschool Center, Greenwood
● Health Wellness and Environmental Studies Magnet Elementary, Jonesboro
● Hope Academy of Public Service, Hope
● Hot Springs Child Care Center II, Hot Springs
● Hoxie School District, Hoxie
● Jasper High, Jasper
● John Tyson Elementary School, Springdale
● Kindergrove, Rogers
● Lake Nixon Outdoor Preschool, Little Rock
● Little Scholars Schools, Little Rock*
● Manila Elementary, Manila*
● Marvell-Elaine Elementary School, Marvell*
● Monticello Intermediate School, Monticello
● Monticello Middle School, Monticello
● Mountain View Middle, Mountain View
● Nettleton Junior High, Jonesboro
● Ozark High School, Ozark
● Ozark Junior High, Ozark*
● Pike View Early Childhood Center, North Little Rock
● Pine Bluff High School, Pine Bluff
● Pinnacle View Middle School, Little Rock*
● Quitman Elementary School, Quitman*
● Salem Elementary School, Benton*
● Spring Hill High School, Hope
● Stagecoach Elementary, Cabot
● The Delta School, Wilson
● The Farm at Pediatrics Plus, Conway
● The New School (TNS), Fayetteville
● Two Rivers School District, Ola*
● Vilonia Pathways Academy, Vilonia
● Washington Elementary, Fayetteville
● White Hall High School, White Hall
*Recipients marked by an asterisk were also recipients of the Arkansas Taste Test Grant Program.
The Arkansas Taste Test Grant Program was established to help schools lead cafeteria taste tests of locally grown, specialty crops. The Department will award $250 grants to the schools to purchase kitchen equipment and utensils, serving materials, and specialty crop seeds and plants. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture recognizes the following 26 schools as grantees of the Arkansas Taste Test Grant Program:
● Alma School District, Alma
● Armorel High School, Armorel
● Baseline Bilingual School, Little Rock
● Bobby Barrett Elementary, Mount Ida
● Bright Beginnings Learning Center, Inc.,
Arkadelphia
● Cabot Middle School South, Cabot
● Cedarville Elementary School, Cedarville
● Centers for Youth and Family, LittleRock
● Drew Central Elementary, Monticello
● Early Childhood Education Program at
● Lincoln Elementary, Lincoln
● Linda Childers Knapp Elementary, Springdale
● LISA Academy Springdale, Springdale
● Little Scholars Schools, Little Rock
● Manila Elementary, Manila
● Marvell-Elaine Elementary School, Marvell
● Nemo Vista FCS High School, Center Ridge
● Ozark Junior High, Ozark
● Pinnacle View Middle School, Little Trinity Cathedral, Little Rock
● Good Earth Learning Center, Austin
● James R. Tate Elementary, Van Buren
● Kiddie Town Learning Center, Little Rock
● Quitman Elementary School, Quitman
● Salem Elementary School, Benton
● SAU Tech ABC Preschool, Camden
● Two Rivers School District, Ola
The farm to school grant programs were available to public and private K-12 schools, early childhood education facilities, and alternative learning environments. In addition to the funding, the Department’s Farm to School and Early Childhood Education Program staff will provide technical assistance to grantees upon request. The grant programs were developed using funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to increase production and consumption of specialty crops in schools. Specialty crops, as defined by the USDA, are fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops.
