High School Students both neurotypical and neurodivergent will provide fresh produce to the low-income minority community who live in a (food insecure) food desert within our community. The produce will be grown by students using their indoor vertical garden wall.
We will build an indoor vertical food garden within the high school and distribute the free harvested greens and vegetables to specific food dessert locations in our city. We are building our new Roots and Shoots chapter! Working from recent history our city has been rated repeatedly as the worst city to live for people of color, there is a food crisis in specific geographical areas within our city. Immigrants also account for 4-5% of our city population and have done so since 1919. Immigrants from Bhutan, India, Mexico, China, Nepal, and Ukraine have settled in our city and not only continue to be a population of need but are also living in the geographical food desert area. The Roots & Shoots chapter base high school has recently undergone a building infrastructure remodel and significant addition. The new school building would provide the Roots & Shoots chapter students with the location and daily access to the vertical food garden. There is a strong history of school-based community service which has lessened since COVID, and there is a desire for increased community engagement. As chapter leader, I would assist the students in their goals: procuring additional grant funding, farming education, discussions and project development, implementation, community discussions, and including but not limited to; vertical garden planting, maintenance, harvesting, and delivery of produce. Involving the high school’s neurodivergent and learning-disabled student population in this educational and outreach program is also a focus. My one child is autistic, and my other child has learning disabilities, and involving their peers would broaden the inclusivity of this chapter. My future goal includes a university partnership, where I teach as a biology instructor. This university has a student autistic and learning difference program, and biology, education, and social work majors who could partner with high school students to expand the food desert sustainability outreach program.
