Houston School's Community Garden Off to a Great Start

The community garden at Betsy Ross Elementary in Houston is a great example of agriculture flourishing in urban settings.

The school recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the garden, made possible by the Texas Department of Agriculture's Urban Schools Agricultural Grant Program. Betsy Ross Elementary was awarded $2,500 for its project, "Learning and Growing the Food We Eat."

The project will act as an outdoor classroom for students, teachers and the entire community. The garden will help students understand the important role agriculture plays in their lives, while teaching them about healthy eating.

Congratulations to the teachers and students at Betsy Ross! I'd like to also extend a special thanks to Borden Milk Products and Kitchen Craft International for their generosity in making this grant program possible.

Keeping Agriculture Alive in Texas Schools

I am happy to announce that six schools have been awarded more than $14,000 under the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Urban School Grant Program.

Agriculture is a vital part of the Texas economy, and we must ensure its future by keeping each generation interested in the industry. These grants will allow urban students to learn of the importance of agriculture in every day life and how the industry has become a high-tech business in need of young professionals.

The program provides up to $2,500 each for the elementary and middle schools’ agricultural demonstration projects in urban school districts. Funding for these grants is sponsored in part by Borden Milk Products and Kitchen Craft International.

The schools receiving the grants are:

* Bryant Elementary School, Arlington Independent School District, Arlington ($1,974)
* Spillane Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Houston ($2,500)
* Aue Elementary School, Northside Independent School District, San Antonio ($2,200)
* De Zavala Middle School, Pasadena Independent School District, Pasadena ($2,500)
* Genoa Elementary School, Pasadena Independent School District, Houston ($2,500)
* J.D. Sparks Elementary, Pasadena Independent School District, Pasadena ($2,500)

To learn more about each school’s agricultural project, click HERE. To see how one school in East Austin benefitted from an Urban School Grant last year, click HERE.