Students grow vegetables for the needy

Kwaleen Traditional Elementary Grade 1/ 2 class proudly shows off their harvested vegetable crop last week. Half of the potatoes, onions, turnips and carrots will go to the local food bank, and the other half will be used at the school.

Angie Mindius

Cariboo Advisor

Kwaleen Traditional Elementary school students took time out of their traditional studies last week to work on something much more tangible; harvesting their vegetable crop for the needy.

“It’s a real bright spot at our school,” said school principal John Silkstone, amidst the excitement of the Grade1/2 class students as they harvested a healthy crop of potatoes, onions and turnips on a warm fall morning last Friday.

“The children take care of it so well and they watch to see how things are growing. They really love the garden.”

The school garden was first started by the staff, students and Kwaleen PAC last year with the intention that it was to teach children about eating healthy, and also supply the school with home-grown vegetables for their various functions and get-togethers.

Silkstone said the garden was such a success that first year that the school decided to make a second garden of equal size this spring with the sole purpose of giving it to the needy.

Sillkstone said they planted “roots for soups” in their new garden including four types of turnips, white and red onions, two types of potatoes as well as rutabaga.

He added the garden crop was bountiful this year, thanks to the care it was given during the summer months by volunteer parents and students of the school.

“Our volunteers have made the garden the success it is.”

The school intends to give half the vegetables to the Salvation Army Food Bank and the other half to the local St. Vincent de Paul food bank, a charitable organization from the Catholic church that makes fresh soup and other food to feed people in Boitanio Park every Sunday, and also gives out small hampers of food out of the church basement Monday afternoon to help cover food needs.

Last weekend the group dished out homemade corn chowder, after a donation of fresh corn was donated by the Kaufmans of Soda Creek Corn.