At Arbor Heights Elementary, a first-grade class isn’t just talking and learning about healthy food – they’re growing it, too, and ready to share their plants with you. Parent Krista Withers shares the news of a plant sale continuing through the end of the week, and a giveaway planned for weekend after next!
All year long our teacher, Marcia Ingerslev, has been focusing on building healthy habits for lifelong nutrition and good health. In addition to cooking in the classroom each Friday, the children from room 16 have been planting, potting, repotting, watering, and caring for many tomato plants.
These plants will be for sale (by donation) after school at the Arbor Heights Playground this week.
Mrs.Ingerslev explains how this will benefit the class, the school and our community here:
“In the cold days of February, the students of room 16 at Arbor Heights planted two flats of tomatoes. With 400 or more sprouts I figured we would get a couple hundred plants.
We are currently at 400 tomato plants, which confirms what I have always known, anything planted and nurtured by a child grows better than when planted by an adult. Some of the plants have been transplanted several times, others are still waiting for a larger home. We will be selling plants until none remain. On May 19th some of my students are going to be at Safeway on Roxbury to share what they have learned about nutrition. They will have a hundred tomato plants to give away. We want families to be able to eat healthy food. This is our small contribution to that end.
If you can’t wait until then or are interested in purchasing (for a donation) more tomato plants, please contact me at mmingerslev@seattleschools.org. 100% of the proceeds go to fund a native-plant garden and our school and to run Room 16’s nutrition program. All of the seeds, pots, and soil were donated. Manpower was provided by first-grade students.”
After-school sales this week are running from about 3:10-4:05 pm. On Saturday, May 19th, Krista tells us, the students’ visit to Roxbury Safeway (Roxbury/26th) will be from 9:30 am-1:30 pm.
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