By Kimberly Warren
One of my first memories of being out at Great Kids Farm was an early event with Will Allen founder of Growing Power in Milwaukee. His talk and workshops with Baltimore City students inspired many in attendance to realize we were a part of a growing national movement to change students' access and relationship to healthy food. Six years later, the Farm has a robust set of programs that engage students in the process of growing and eating healthy foods and provide produce to City Schools' salad bars, and a Friends group to support these activities.
I am lucky enough to be the relatively new chair of the Friends of Great Kids Farm Board, working alongside a committed group of volunteers and our executive director to raise money to further the mission of the Farm and reach more of Baltimore City's 85,000 students. Dr. Gregory Thornton, the new CEO of Baltimore City Schools, grew up on farm on
the eastern shore of Maryland and keeps abreast of innovations in sustainable agriculture. He has visited Great Kids Farm a number of times, bringing a new perspective and commitment to this work. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Dr. Thornton and his staff as we explore how to grow the Farm’s capacity.
Harvest season always signals change and a time to reflect on what's ahead. To that end we are embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process that will produce a vision for the Farm’s future, including a plan for expanding programs. Working with Dr. Thornton’s team, the Farm staff, Friends' board and executive director, we will create a road map for building the staff, funding, and facilities capacity to achieve new goals. Our hope is to build a stronger public-private partnership that can serve as a model for programs that blend farm production, healthy food access for students, and educational programming. I look forward to sharing the outcomes of this process in the new year.
Take a look at farmtoschool.org or Edible School Yard to read about schools across the country taking on the issue of healthy eating and getting farm-fresh food into school cafeterias. You can be a part of this movement by donating to Friends of Great Kids.