Alabama Christian Academy – Alabama
Alabama Christian Academy students, grades K3 through 5th grade, have been growing with Katie’s Krops since 2015. “We love teaching our students about serving others. They can learn about giving back to their community. It incorporates so many academic learning opportunities while also providing a clear understanding of being service-minded.”
“Our students love watching the garden grow from start to finish. It’s always a lot of work to get the beds prepared and ready for planting. Then the watering and weeding take a lot of time. However, the work that is put into the garden is worth it as they watch the plants grow and mature. The first signs of crop production is always exciting. Once we can harvest, the students and teachers love seeing how many pounds of produce has been grown. Taking the food to the Food Bank is always such a time of excitement and helps us feel like what we’ve done has been worth it. It all comes to a full circle from start to finish. We make a point to be sure our students know how much it means to our community and how this whole experience is about giving back and serving others” shared Lindsey Donaldson, the second-grade teacher.
The harvest from their garden is donated with the Montgomery Area Food Bank, and they have an impressive yield to share! Year after year, they donate hundreds and hundreds of pounds of produce annually.
Strong support from the principal, Doug Black, plays a significant role in keeping the garden up during the summer. Teachers’ involvement is instrumental to their success. They host a summer camp, and those students work in the garden as part of their weekly activities. During the school year, each class takes care of a specific bed that is labeled with their class name and grade level. It is a team effort!
To kick off our growing seasons each year, the teachers read ‘Katie’s Cabbage,’ which helps them understand that the concept for Katie’s Krops came from a student who was close to their age and how she allowed a school project to turn into something so much bigger. It encourages them to dream big and think of ways they can serve others as well in addition to our service through our garden.
“I am blown away each year that we are given this opportunity of receiving a grant to take on this task of creating a garden that serves others. The grant provided allows us to have a garden with 12 beds that we fill with wonderful things to grow so that others can enjoy fresh produce. The Montgomery Area Food Bank usually focuses on canned goods and non-perishable items. The fact that we are able to provide people in our community with fresh produce makes us smile and feel like we’ve done something great.”