BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County (CCE Broome) is excited to have received a grant through NYS Ag and Markets to give away free victory container gardens to community members within the Whitney Point, Susquehanna Valley, Harpursville and Windsor School Districts.
Residents within the four school districts were able to register at the beginning of August to receive over $100 in tools and equipment to help them grow fresh fruits and vegetables at home. Registration for the garden kits is now closed. Each kit contains an EarthBox® container garden, cool-season seeds, garden tools and kitchen tools. These kits are designed to empower residents with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to grow their own food into the cooler fall season.
Over 345 residents across the four school districts will receive a garden kit. There was a tremendous response within the community, with Whitney Point receiving over 70 registrations in one day! CCE Broome staff will be holding pick up dates over the next couple of weeks within each community to pass out the kits. Thirty additional kits will be given exclusively to seniors within Whitney Point and Harpursville in collaboration with local senior centers.
CCE Broome horticulture staff will be hosting an exclusive webinar on growing cold-season crops in container gardens for all participants in August. Nutrition staff will also be hosting an engaging cooking show and demo webinar in September for participants to give them recipes and tips on cooking their produce.
Participants have already shared their excitement for receiving these garden kits, with one community members sharing that “we are a rural family of 7 and we try to eat a lot of vegetables… [the] garden kits will allow us to grow some salad greens well into the fall.”
–Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County
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