Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops Friendly Markets and Dole Packaged Foods launched the sixth annual Learning Garden contest that will grant two elementary schools in either upstate New York, Vermont or Northern Pennsylvania a Captain Planet Foundation Project Learning Garden. The contest runs Jan. 2 to Feb. 28.
Tops shoppers can enter their school for a chance to win by visiting topsmarkets.com or https://captainplanetfoundation.org/contest/topsmarkets/ and filling out the contest application, according to a news release. The two winning schools will get Learning Garden program tools, including lesson kits filled with supplies, a schoolyard garden, fully-equipped garden cooking cart and strategies for summer garden maintenance.
The Project Learning Garden program provides a context for multidisciplinary learning, ranging from nutrition and science to social, studies, math and language arts. Students benefit by expanding their palates, taste-testing healthy foods and learning about food origins.
In 2021, the winning schools were JWS School #16 in Rochester, N.Y., and Midlakes Elementary in Clifton Springs, N.Y.
“It is so important for children to learn about where their food comes from and develop healthy eating habits at an early age,” Dole senior sales director Tim Korosec said in the release.
Captain Planet Foundation has a mission to help children better understand natural world, foundation president and CEO Leesa Carter said in the release.
“So many subjects can be taught in the garden, and hands-on garden learning is an excellent way to support student understanding of natural systems, food origins and healthy eating,” she said.
Tops senior vice president Diane Colgan said in the release that she wants to encourage every elementary school to consider entering the contest for a chance to win this helpful, fun, free resource.
“We are committed to supporting educational excellence, and the hands-on garden and curriculum is an integral part of the conversation when teaching kids learn where their food comes from,” she said.
