My, how her garden grows! Kay Swesey's planter at the beginning. A few weeks later her garden flourishes.
Installing the planters at home!
Wellington High School students, members of Future Farmers of America, busy at work constructing planter kits for Growing Nutrition.
25 Planter Kits Distributed Twenty-five lucky residents received free planter kits to grow their own produce this summer through the “Growing Nutrition” program, which is sponsored by the Lorain County Office on Aging-Southern Satellite Office (LCOOA-SSO) and THRIVE! Southern Lorain County.
One of THRIVE!’s key goals is to improve the health and nutrition levels of southern Lorain County residents, and Growing Nutrition fits the bill. Designed for senior citizens who are nutritionally at risk and families with children, the program, announced in April, was limited to 25 participants.
Each participant received a free garden starter kit, which includes a handsome raised wooden planter; soil; a variety of starter plants and seeds; tomato cages, trowels and other materials.
Now that the raised planters have been constructed, Wellington Boy Scout Troop 414 loaded the kits onto trucks at the Dairy Barn at Lorain County Fairgrounds. They and other volunteers distributed planter kits to each participant on Thursday, June 7, starting at 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Thank You, Local Vendors and Volunteers! It took a whole village of volunteers and vendors to make the planter kits. THRIVE! and Lorain County Office on Aging wish to thank the following organizations for making Growing Nutrition a resounding success:
Farm and Home: Discounted the price of soil, trowels, zip ties and pallets.
Wellington Future Farmers of America (FFA): Wellington High School students, members of FFA, all volunteers, built the raised planters. Shannon Thome, Agricultural Education teacher at the high school, was the students’ FFA Adviser.
Hook’s Greenhouse: Discounted the price of all starter plants and seeds.
Wellington Boy Scout Troop 414: Volunteers, loading the kits onto trucks and helping with distribution.
Katie Woods, First United Methodist Church: Volunteered at all stages to make the program a success!
THRIVE! Southern Lorain County: Provided most of the funding for materials.
Carter Lumber supplied lumber for the raised planters. Growing Nutrition is the brainchild of Sarah Poling, outreach coordinator of LCOOA-Southern Satellite Office.
THRIVE! Southern Lorain County is one of 11 Community Collaboratives powered by United Way of Greater Lorain County that are working to improve the health, education, and financial stability of all residents in our communities.