The Growing Minds program began with Emily Jackson's third grade class and the garden they created. Emily used her classroom garden to engage students in the magic and discovery of growing and eating your own food. She integrated the garden into her classroom curriculum, connecting it to the books they read and the poetry they wrote, and building their excitement about learning.

Growing Minds has gone on to help teachers throughout the region correlate garden activities with standard course of study objectives, provide hands-on/minds-on experiences, and build connections to healthy, fresh foods.

Growing Minds has adopted school gardens in Haywood, Buncombe, and Madison counties. Now the program is focusing on creating a bridge between established Farm to School programs and those that wish to begin a program. Our role includes providing teacher workshops and curriculum resources, connecting resources from one school to another, providing support for special projects, and assisting in volunteer recruitment.