BEREA, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Madison County program that serves underprivileged students meals during the summer recently received a $30,000 grant. Berea Kids Eat sets students and their families up for success by teaching nutritional value, through locally sourced food.
This may just look like an ordinary garden. But this garden is used to close the nutritional gaps among kids in Berea.
"It's a space where we've actually been able to bring camps out and bring kids to grow their own food and market it. We expanded from having one small junior farmer's market here, to having a much larger one in partnership with the Berea Farmer's Market," program coordinator Martina LeForce said.
The biggest role of the garden is providing meals to the school system during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Glades Community Garden is a part of Berea Kids Eat, which started as a summer meal program.
The food service recently received a $30,000 grant from the Cigna Foundation.
"What the Cigna grant is allowing us to do is, take it to the next step here with incorporating native species and pollinator species. Then also making this an educational space, for families to learn how they can do this in their own yards, in their own neighborhoods," LeForce said.
The Berea Kids Eat program lays the nutritional foundation that invests in the future and creates connections in the community.
"It's leveraging the nutritional program, to also build the local food economy. Then get people more connected to it as a family," LeForce said.
