Coconut Grove Elementary is sowing the seeds of change

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What color is a Coconut Grove Elementary student’s thumb? If you guessed “green” you are right. The Coconut Grove Elementary students planted their first-ever organic vegetable garden this week made possible by a grant from Slow Food Miami, an eco-gastronomic organization that combats fast-food lifestyles.

New principal, Dr. Sharon Lopez and PTA parents rolled up their sleeves to rake, shovel and till the soil together to plant seedlings for a garden box for each class grade which will then become the responsibility of that grade to care for and harvest.

Sowing the seeds of good, clean and fair food, as Slow Food’s motto dictates, the students will learn to appreciate those little green parcels of food they so reluctantly want to shovel into their mouths at home, said Kate Carrick a PTA parent of two at the school who first approached Donna Reno and Susan Rodriguez, from Slow Food as well as Sean Reinhardt, who is on the board of Slow Food through the Coconut Grove Garden Club, which funded the grant. Slow Food waited for two years for approval from administration at Coconut Grove Elementary School to start the process but were not given the green light until this year.

Carrick, a longtime Grove resident who also teaches Indoor Cycling at Equinox in Coral Gables said that so many parents were inspired by the donations from Slow Food that many donated garden boxes from their businesses.

“It’s all a domino effect,” Carrick said. “Erin Compton, the owner of The Last Carrot in the Grove jumped on board, and so did many more volunteers, after she realized what we were trying to instill in our kids. Many Coconut Grove businesses are contributing Home Depot cards so that the students can buy much needed seeds, compost and garden supplies for future gardens.”

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A non-profit member-supported association, Slow Food was founded in 1989 to counter the rise of fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Carrick said that the garden also represents the many wonderful changes happening at the school this year due to a greater effort by the administration, teachers and parents trying to work together to cultivate the school of their dreams.