Fort Worth School Gardens Growing Organic Produce ` For more information, Please see websites below: ` Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ` Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ` Free School Gardening Art Posters http://scribd.com/doc/239851159` ` Companion Planting Increases Food Production from School Gardens http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ` Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ` City Chickens for your Organic School Garden http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ` Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide http://scribd.com/doc/239851110

1. Media Contact:
Jennifer Fitzgerald, 972.896.1455
jfitzgerald@realschoolgardens.org
FORT WORTH STUDENTS JOIN REAL SCHOOL GARDENS
IN GROWING ORGANIC PRODUCE FOR GRACE RESTAURANT
FORT WORTH, Texas – [November 1, 2010] – GRACE Restaurant’s Chef Blaine Staniford will be visiting
I.M. Terrell at 9:00 am and Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary Schools at 3:15 pm on Tuesday, November 2 to
tour school gardens, talk to Fort Worth Independent School District students about healthy eating and to
check on the student-grown organic vegetables to be harvested and served at a November 12 fundraising
event to benefit REAL School Gardens.
REAL School Gardens and GRACE Restaurant have partnered together with two high-poverty elementary
schools to grow and harvest organic produce. Both I.M. Terrell and Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary Schools
have more than 80% of their students classified as low-income, making them eligible for free or reduced
lunches as part of the Federal Meal’s program. As implausible as it may sound, many students at these
schools had never tasted a salad before REAL School Gardens installed an outdoor classroom and
encouraged healthy lifestyles to grow along with standards-based, hands-on learning in the outdoors. Now
these same students are able to cultivate fresh, seasonal produce for their families, local community and
patrons at GRACE, one of the area’s most acclaimed restaurants.
“We are excited to see the students develop along with the school garden,” said REAL School Gardens
Director of Community Relations Jennifer Fitzgerald. “Last fall at the community design planning dinner at
I.M. Terrell Elementary School, I was awestruck by these children. Each one of them asked for a garden full
of vegetables and row upon row of food for their families. Instead of the usual requests to install a pond for
water studies or flowers to attract butterflies, these students truly wanted nutritious food. REAL School
Gardens is delighted to support our school partners and nurture healthy lifestyles for young people across
North Texas.”
Chef Staniford will be busy during his November 2nd school garden visits. At each school, he will discuss
healthy eating choices and provide a cooking demonstration to prepare nutritious snacks for children. Fort
Worth Independent School District students will tour Chef Staniford around their outdoor classrooms and
discuss the upcoming fall harvest. The students are currently growing mustard greens, beets and both red
and green leaf lettuces to be incorporated into a unique and seasonal menu to be served at the restaurant on
November 12.
At I.M. Terrell, where the outdoor classroom was installed in April 2010, pre-K and fifth-grade students tend
to these vegetable beds, while all students and the broader community have access to the full school garden.
As a result of this project, the students have developed a mentoring program. Approximately 40 pre-K
students and 30 fifth-grade students worked together to prepare the soil and plant from seeds. REAL School
Gardens educators led a series of standards-based, math and science lessons with the older children to
further their educational opportunities.
At Van Zandt-Guinn, which has had a school garden since 2004, the chef’s visit will be part of the after-
school garden club activities. The garden club regularly meets each week to care for their outdoor classroom,
gain leadership skills and learn environmental and horticulture practices. The school’s part-time librarian
Ginger Cary established the program last year and has seen enthusiasm for outdoor education grow just as
the plants have.

2. “The children’s faces light up when they see the tangible results of their efforts in the garden and they tell me
the importance of our collective work together,” remarked Cary. “Van Zandt-Guinn is very excited to partner
with REAL School Gardens by growing produce for GRACE Restaurant. The school has worked together to
get the vegetables planted and the garden club has maintained the beds to be sure our vegetables are just
what the chef needs. I hope that more community projects can be set up to utilize our gardening program.”
REAL School Gardens is a non-profit that partners with high-poverty elementary schools to create learning
gardens that become an integral part of their teaching culture and community. The organization supports
the design and installation of school gardens, trains teachers to use them to improve children’s learning and
builds community around them to nurture support for urban schools. When teachers take learning
outdoors, children achieve greater success in schools by becoming more engaged learners, more effective
team members and healthier people.
Tickets for the November 12 fundraising event are $150 per person. Proceeds will help to create more
outdoor classrooms for high-poverty schools across North Texas, as well as provide standards-based training
for educators. Reservations can be made by calling 817.877.3388. To learn more about the school garden
program or upcoming harvest event, visit www.realschoolgardens.org.
About REAL School Gardens
REAL School Gardens cultivates relationships with high-poverty elementary school communities to create
learning gardens that raise hope, spark imaginations and connect children to nature. School gardens have
been shown to boost academic achievement, encourage healthy lifestyles, cultivate life skills and promote
environmental stewardship amongst students. In addition to garden installations, REAL School Gardens
provides year-round support for the gardens, professional development opportunities for educators and
community-building networking events.
Currently, REAL School Gardens works with 74 elementary schools in five urban school districts, ensuring
that more than 41,000 children and 2,600 educators have daily access to nature through school gardens in
North Texas. With plans to reach more students and school communities across the country, the
organization is itself growing. For more information, visit www.realschoolgardens.org.