All Campus Kitchen News

Not Everyone Looks Forward to Summer Vacation: How Summer Hunger Hurts American Children

By Jillian Roberts | May 29th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, National News

When I was young, my father was a fire inspector and part of his job included performing fire drills in all of the schools. He had one very strict rule when it came time to running these tests: never schedule a fire drill during lunch.

His reasoning was that, for some children, lunch might be the only consistent meal that they receive. Some school administrators argued that drills should take place during lunch to avoid taking time away from academics, but Dad never waivered. He did not want his drill to force someone to go hungry.

Nutritious meals are key for a child’s development and academic performance; it is hard to concentrate on an algebra test when you are worried about where your next meal is going to come from. Without regular access to lunch, students are “more likely to be sick, absent or tardy, disruptive in class, and inattentive,” according to the USDA. Students who miss meals also score lower on academic achievement tests.

Childhood hunger is more common than many realize – one in five American children struggle with hunger every day. During the school year, the USDA’s National School Lunch Program is in place to provide a free or reduced price lunch for 21 million students. By providing over $10 billion in school meals in 2010 alone, this program also takes pressure off of struggling families – there is one less meal to worry about.

But what happens in June when schools and cafeterias close? Hunger doesn’t end just because the academic year does. During the summer months, families are unable to rely on school meals and are under increased pressure to fill that meal gap. While cheaper, unhealthy foods may relieve that pressure, they lack proper nutrition and, according to the USDA, “set up a cycle for poor performance once school begins again.” Hunger and poor nutrition during the summer months “also may make children more prone to illness and other health issues.”

Programs like Sodexo Foundation’s Feeding Our Future and the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program work during the summer to provide healthy meals to kids that need them. According to the USDA, 137,400,000 summer meals were served in 2011 alone – meals that students otherwise would have gone without.

No child should go hungry, and with so many relying on school meals to get through the day, summer feeding fills an important gap. Without these programs to rely on, many might not receive the nutrition necessary to grow and learn – something that could impact these students for years to come.

AmeriCorps position with the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University

By Jillian Roberts | May 29th, 2012 | Categories: National News

The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University (CKGU) supplies individual and congregate meals to the Spokane, WA community with the assistance of college student and community volunteers.  Last year, CKGU volunteers recycled over 5000 pounds of food to provide over 24,000 meals to Spokane’s neediest citizens.  Not only does the project partner with local non-profit agencies to provide meals, it provides outreach to the community through several initiatives: the Campus Kitchens Community Dinner, Ruellen-Day Community Garden, and the Gonzaga University Mentoring programs Nutritional Education Program.

The Washington Service AmeriCorps member would support the Campus Kitchens Coordinator in developing, expanding, and supporting these initiatives. The AmeriCorps member would be responsible for volunteer recruitment and training, designing programs that support these initiatives, tracking important data and statistics, and assisting with the day to day coordination of these projects.

Responsibilities include:

• Assist in the organization and coordination of Campus Kitchens programs and initiatives (e.g.; Campus Kitchens Community Dinner, Ruellen-Day Community Garden, and mentoring youth nutritional educational program)
• Recruit, train, and manage volunteers
• Collaborate with the Campus Kitchen, community partners, university departments, students, and faculty to develop and sustain programming for community initiatives
• Research, develop, and coordinate co-curricular service-learning activities to address local and regional hunger and homelessness issues
• Attend Spokane Homeless Coalition and Feed Spokane meetings and events
• Collaborate with non-profit and national service organizations to improve services and to identify resources
• Participate in professional development and training activities
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications required for this position:

• Ability to advise higher education students
• Ability to work with marginalized groups (homeless)
• Leadership experience
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Background in community service work
• Self-motivated, a self-starter
• An individual 21 years of age or older – a college graduate is preferred
• Must be a US citizen or legal permanent resident

 Required Training:

• The AmeriCorps member will participate in on-site training, attain a Food Handlers Card, and attend trainings in gardening if they do not have prior experience.

Required Reporting:

• The AmeriCorps member will be expected to complete all required Washington State Service Corps reports in a timely manner.
• Other reporting may include: updating Community Dinner Statistics and internal databases

This position is 40 hours a week, and some evenings and weekend shift will be required.

For more information, please contact Emily Paulson at paulsone@gonzaga.edu.

CKNU Nutrition Education and MyPlate

By Katie Darin | May 24th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, Local News

Last year, CKNU received a Kraft Feeding Possibilities grant though the Greater Chicago Food Depository to teach nutrition and wellness education to children at a local Evanston school or community center.  Over the past six weeks, I have helped to complete the grant by working with the “Dream Team,” a group of up to 35 third, fourth, and fifth graders in an after-school daycare program at Family Focus – Our Place.

The group gathered around a large square table every Monday, for an hour, to learn about First Lady Michelle Obama’s new nutrition and health campaign: MyPlate.  Each hour-long lesson at Family Focus had a theme.  The first week focused on the MyPlate in general, including why it was created, what it means, and why it is different from the Food Pyramid.  For the next four weeks, each lesson had a theme corresponding to a food group of MyPlate, (with protein and dairy group together).  The last week concentrated on the final aspect of the MyPlate idea: physical activity (where we did a fun game tying in their knowledge of which foods fit in which groups!).

After every lesson, the kids participated in an activity and assembled a healthy snack using the food group discussed that day.  The kids participated in competitive wordsearch games and enjoyed the old-fashioned “ants on a log” (with cream cheese rather than peanut butter, due to an allergy), fruit and vegetable tastings (no one liked papaya!), whole-grain English muffin fruit pizzas, string cheese and goldfish, yogurt parfaits, and even mini-cupcakes on our last visit (sweets are okay in moderation)!

As the teacher, I wasn’t completely sure how the class would turn out.  However, after a nerve-filled first lesson, I found I had nothing to worry about, and I looked forward to coming back every week.  The kids at Family Focus, as well as their teacher, Miss Joann, were filled with energy and pizzazz, and in the end, they seemed to learn a lot.  I hoped that it proved to be a valuable experience for them, as I know I really enjoyed the opportunity to teach and learn alongside them!

Alexis Gable is a Freshman at Northwestern University majoring in Social Policy and Economics. She is a work-study student and Leadership Team member at The Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University. Alexis enjoys good friends, good music, and good food, and her favorite food (a question asked to the kids at every Nutrition Education class) is mango.

 

Want to know more about MyPlate?

MyPlate is dubbed the new, more updated version of the old-school Food Pyramid.  It was designed based on the idea that the average working family cannot accurately measure what a “serving” is, let alone take the time from their busy days to measure what “6 ounces of grains per day” equals in bread or cereal.  Because of this issue, many Americans tended to overeat—not because of a desire to eat more, but because of a lack of knowledge about how much they should be eating.  Mrs. Obama’s MyPlate is an image of a plate divided into four sections: grains, proteins, vegetables, and fruits (with a cup of dairy directly above the plate).  The idea is that a parent can look at the MyPlate example and see how much of their child’s plate should be each of the four categories.  Rather than deal with the technical numbers—30% fruits, 30% vegetables, 20% protein, and 20% grains—the parent can instead see that half of the plate should be fruits and protein, and half of the plate should be vegetables and grains.  It is a system based off of proportions rather than hard number percentages.

To learn more, check out the MyPlate website at www.choosemyplate.gov.

Spokane and Canton: A Tale of Two Dinners

By Emily Paulson | May 21st, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, CKPguests, National News

It was a long drive up to Canton, New York, where St. Lawrence University is located. I had plenty of time to think about the school and the community I was about to visit. I knew that they hold a community dinner every Monday in a church near campus, but I had done my research, and I knew that Canton is a town of only about 2,800 people. I couldn’t help but wonder, with such a small population, who would be attending this dinner?

My home base is the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA – a community of over 400,000. We provide a community dinner every week as well. Our dinner serves primarily chronically homeless men and women. The occasional family will come through our doors, but it can be a rough crowd. We use food as the carrot to get people in the door. At the dinner, we have outreach workers from Spokane Mental Health, the CHAS Clinic, the Salvation Army, and Gonzaga Nursing students to provide services and referrals to get people in a better place. We provide clothing, dog food, band aids, tooth brushes, and basically anything else we can get our hands on that could make life a little better. We see addiction, substance abuse, mental and physical disabilities. Life on the streets is not easy.

We provide food and services, but I truly think the most important thing we provide is community. My biggest rule at dinner is respect. Respect for guests. Respect for volunteers. As soon as you enter the door, we are all equal. We all share the condition of being human, and we are all valuable. Our guests look forward to dinner, and so do I.

So as I drove, I just couldn’t imagine that our client base could be similar. Monday evening rolled around, and I watched the students prepare the dinner, and then I headed to the church to help set up. There were people waiting in the parking lot an hour before the dinner was scheduled to be served. The crowd consisted primarily of older women and a few families. The St. Lawrence students divided the tables amongst themselves and each had a section they were responsible for serving. They did not need me to help serve, and I really wanted to get a feel for this dinner, so I took my place at a table with about 7 elderly women. I listened to them talk.

They talked about their week and what was happening in their lives. They asked me where I was from, and told them that I was representing the National Office of the Campus Kitchens Project. The women told me how important this dinner is to them. They told me of the good work of the students at the Campus Kitchen at St. Lawrence and the sense of community they have built through serving the dinner. They didn’t need to tell me, I could just tell. After dinner, the students put a candle in one of the pieces of cake and sang happy birthday to a boy that attends the dinner with his family every week. He was turning 6 the next day.

I thought about our dinners on the way back to Spokane. It struck me that as different as the two might be, what we provide is very similar. Having a place to come be with others is invaluable, whether you are living on the streets of Spokane or living 2,000 miles away in a tiny town in New York. Having enough food to eat is an immediate need, but the importance of community feeds your soul.

Emily Paulson is a Program Manager at The Campus Kitchens Project and the Coordinator for the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University.

What can a Campus Kitchen do for you?

By Jillian Roberts | May 17th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, National News

What can volunteering with the Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) do for you? It can be a way to meet people on campus, hang out with friends, or beef up that resume. But with graduation season upon us and our students leaving for summer break, we decided to ask the question, “What have you taken away from your time with Campus Kitchens?” Working with your local Campus Kitchen can also give you a greater sense of community (both on and off campus); give you the tools to be a leader in your field; expose you to new ideas about nutrition, philanthropy, and social enterprise; and maybe even change your career path. Not too bad for a few hours of cooking.

It’s easy to feel like you’re in a bubble while living on a college campus. But Campus Kitchen volunteers are able to get out into their community and serve their neighbors. Molly Bulman, a graduating senior at the College of William and Mary, worked with the Campus Kitchen at William and Mary (CKWM) to “break through to connect with our clients” – a step that was needed to successfully reach and serve the town. “I began to see the need for human connection that goes hand-in-hand with any other kind of service. Once we reached a certain comfort level with our clients and our children we were able to make a difference,” Bulman said. By volunteering through CKWM, she and other volunteers were able to break down barriers between college and client and truly be a part of the community.

Other CKP volunteers have developed different outlooks on the role businesses need to play in society. CKP and DC Central Kitchen founder and president Robert Egger believes that businesses “can be philanthropy in and of themselves” – that nonprofits need to act like businesses and businesses have a social responsibility. That lesson stuck with Saint Louis University senior Lauren Ziegler. The Campus Kitchen at Saint Louis University (CKSLU) “has definitely changed my view of business,” Ziegler said, and her time volunteering with CKSLU has “really carried over to my studies and plans for my future.”

But she’s not the only student who has left a Campus Kitchen with an altered career path. Many volunteers have decided to continue their service by looking for employment with nonprofits. Shiri Yadlin, a volunteer with the Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee University (CKWL) and a member of the class of 2012, hopes to continue to work with a nonprofit that serves the homeless. “My work with the Campus Kitchen has definitely helped me see that I want service to be a big part of my life in the future,” Yadlin said.

Megan Crowe graduated from Gettysburg College in 2010, but her work with the Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg (CKGC) also influenced her career. A health sciences major, most of her classmates went into clinical or research positions, but Crowe says, “because of my work with CKGC I knew I wanted to go into a field where I would be working to better the community.” This led her to serve as an AmeriCorps member with Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters program where she led nutrition education classes to give low income individuals the skills to create healthy meals while sticking to a budget.

By serving with their local Campus Kitchen, these students have gained more than a few volunteer hours or a line on their resume. They have learned the importance of community involvement and social responsibility. Whether they choose to work with a nonprofit or make a career in the corporate world, they will always have the skills that they developed in the Kitchen.

Announcing the Campus Kitchens LinkedIn Group

By Jillian Roberts | May 17th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, Kitchen Tips and Tricks, National News

As some of you may know, The Campus Kitchens Project has a LinkedIn group, but we never really used it. That is, until now. I’m happy to announce that CKP will work to actively engage and keep in touch with our alumni through this group. I have already reached out to the Class of 2012, but I encourage all Campus Kitchen volunteers and employees, past and present, to join our LinkedIn community. And if you’re already a member, pass an invite along to colleagues from your own Campus Kitchen.

We will be posting stories about what our Campus Kitchens are currently up to and, essentially, trying to keep all of our alums in the loop. But I also want to know what you want, whether it’s more alumni activities or a place to share favorite memories  and best practices. It’s your forum, so let me know how I can facilitate the discussion!

 

Choosing to Serve

By Emily Paulson | May 15th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, CKPguests, National News

I have been around service my entire life. My parents were both extremely politically active and the importance of taking care of people was ingrained in me from a very young age. My mother sat on the first Advisory Board of the Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant – a meal and service provider here in Spokane, WA. She used to make me volunteer at the dinners every week, and I begrudgingly went all through high school. I would like to say that I went happily to set up the chairs and serve the dinners, but I really didn’t want to be there – there were usually other things I would have rather been doing. And that’s where my true relationship with service began.

It was the fall semester of my junior year of high school. I found myself in Mr. Long’s 4th period Leadership class – a class where students came up with service projects and saw them through to fruition. To be honest, I took the class because I thought it would be easy and would look good on my college applications. I skated through the first month, putting in minimal effort and showing even less interest in any of the service projects. One day, while watching the minutes click by till lunch, I was snapped back to reality by Mr. Long asking me to stay after class. He informed me that he knew I wasn’t really doing anything in his class, and gave me two choices: I could continue to perform at a lackluster level and get by, or I could make it an amazing experience. I chose the latter.

That year I spearheaded the largest food and clothing driving North Central High School had ever seen. NC is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the state, so the need is always high. I continued with the Leadership program at North Central and was one of the first students to receive a letter in Leadership. I actually lettered in something! Me, the girl who didn’t join anything and wasn’t coordinated enough to make a sports team!

I continued doing service projects on my own sporadically while I worked my way through Gonzaga in the restaurant industry. One time, I convinced all of the servers and bartenders downtown to donate their tips from one night of work to the Red Cross to benefit Kosovo refugees. Another time, I made Mardi Gras masks and sold them to raise money after Hurricane Katrina. Service has always been there for me. I can’t say that service would be as important to me as it is if that one teacher hadn’t called me out. That is why it means so much to me to do the same thing for students, not only at the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University, but at our Campus Kitchens across the country. That said, thank you Mr. Long. You truly made a difference, not only in my life, but in the lives of many.

 

 

Emily Paulson is a Program Manager at The Campus Kitchens Project and the Coordinator for the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations Class of 2012

By Jillian Roberts | May 14th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, National News

 

The Campus Kitchens Project is proud to recognize the following students for their hard work. Congratulations to the Class of 2012!

Devon Baniak	Saint Louis University
Molly Bulman	William and Mary
Bridget Greene	University of Detroit Mercy
Mary Gourley	East Carolina University
Amy Heard	Baylor University
Andrea Kleger	Saint Louis University
Hannah Laird	Baylor University
Ryne Macht	Saint Louis University
Ashley McCullough	East Carolina University
Ashley Minton	University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Stephanie Mutchler	William and Mary
Lana Nasrallah	East Carolina University
Cassie Powell	William and Mary
Sarah Schach	East Carolina University
Alex Shabo	Washington and Lee University
April Sharp	East Carolina University
Kelsey Sizer	Washington and Lee University
Eryn Vincent	Auburn University
Shiri Yadlin	Washington and Lee University
Ashlyn Yuratich	Auburn University
Lu Zhou	Saint Louis University
Lauren Ziegler	Saint Louis University
Amanda Zurad	William and Mary

Food Stamps Program Empowers Families, Revitalizes Economy

By Lindsay Wallace | May 9th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen, CKPguests, National News

I’ve had the same best friend since I was 10 years old – that’s 15 years of memories and loyalty through good times and bad. She’s one of the smartest people I know, so it was no surprise when she was accepted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – one of the top five schools in the U.S. What nobody expected was the recession that hit hard during our college years. By the time we graduated from our respective schools in 2009, the economy was in the gutter and employment prospects for recent graduates were depressing, to say the least.

Armed with a double degree from UNC and an excellent résumé, Rose moved to southern New Jersey to be closer to her family and pursue her career in Philadelphia. Applying for jobs became a full time job in itself; day in and day out, she sent her résumé to dozens of employers. Rose spent a full year looking for work, during which time she was able to find a seasonal, part-time, minimum wage job in a department store, and nothing else.

In 2009 I graduated from one of the most prestigious universities in the country eager to begin my career. But as the months passed and I watched my savings dwindle, I became desperate. With zero income and mounting expenses, I was forced to find different ways to make ends meet. One thing that was a tremendous help during that difficult time was applying for food stamps. My partner and I received over $300 a month in food stamps which lifted an enormous burden from our budget each month. No longer did I feel guilty for buying food. It also encouraged us to make healthier food choices because we had incentive to stay home and cook. We could stretch our stamps even farther when we shopped at the local produce shops, which surprisingly also accepted EBT. – Rose D.

Rose’s story is valuable for several reasons. For one, it defies stereotypes; a young, educated white woman may not be the first image to come to mind when people talk about food stamps participants. Food insecurity can affect anyone. Her story illuminates the reality that we are facing as a nation: the economic downturn has widened the wealth gap and has driven millions of people to the edge of poverty, which is why record numbers now rely on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the new name for food stamps since 2008). Every $5 of food stamps benefits spent generates $9 in economic activity; when Rose used food stamps at her local produce stand, she stimulated the local economy. Perhaps most important, her story exemplifies the life raft that SNAP can be for people struggling through hard times. The average participant uses food stamps for about 9 months, often just long enough to help them through a difficult transition, such as unemployment, and avoid falling into poverty. Rose relied on SNAP for a few months to put food on the table and divert her money to other living expenses until she got back on her feet. Without that support, her situation might easily have gotten much worse before it got better.

Food stamps have a long history of responding to the needs of American citizens. The original Food Stamps Program, an experiment that lasted from 1939-1943, arose in response to widespread unemployment and agricultural surplus – when those conditions changed, the program was terminated and followed by 18 years of studies and reports. President Kennedy launched the Pilot Food Stamp Program in 1961, and in 1964 the Food Stamps Act was signed into law, reaching nationwide availability by 1974. In the past four decades, the Food Stamps Program has undergone countless reforms and has faced a wide spectrum of public opinions. This past December, SNAP reached record levels of enrollment, with 46.5 million Americans taking part in the program. Still, 3 in 10 eligible people are left without access. Enrollment levels reflect the state of the economy, and the food stamps program expands and contracts in reaction to the changing level of need.

One reason that food stamps can be so controversial is their perceived expense to taxpayers. It’s important to understand the facts about where the money comes from and where it goes. First of all, SNAP is 100% federally funded. Additionally, the federal government pays for half of all costs that states incur in administering the program, which amount to less than 5% of the total expenditure. Furthermore, SNAP accounts for only one penny out of every dollar in the federal budget – truly a small price to pay to prevent hunger, lift families out of poverty, and generate economic activity. When you consider the fact that the consequences of hunger cost the U.S. $167.5 billion per year, it makes sense that the benefits outweigh the costs. We cannot afford, financially nor morally, to let our neighbors go hungry.

Regardless of one’s stance on taxes for social welfare initiatives, much of the controversy and disdain for food stamps arises from misinformation. A plethora of myths complicate the public perception of SNAP:

• Myth: People use food stamps to avoid having to work.
  Reality: 30% of households receiving SNAP have at least one employed family member. Further, 76% of those households include children, elderly, or disabled family members. Although temporarily suspended due to the economic crisis, there is also a 3 month limit  (in a 3 year period) for unemployed people to receive SNAP, incentivizing employment and job training.
• Myth: Lots of people are scamming the system and fraud is prevalent.
  Reality: The SNAP fraud rate is less than 1%. In addition, when underpayment or overpayment errors occur (in less than 5% of cases) it is usually due to caseworker error.
• Myth: Illegal immigrants are using taxpayer-funded food stamps.
  Reality: Illegal immigrants are not, and have never been, eligible for food stamps. Legal immigrants must wait at least 5 years to apply, and make up a very small portion (less than 4%) of participants.
• Myth: Having SNAP leads to poor dietary choices and higher rates of obesity.
  Reality:Studies show no link between food stamps and overeating, or between food stamps and weight gain.

These are only a few examples of the myths, in addition to stigma and public opinion battles, that complicate the issue. The simple bottom line is this: one in six people is struggling with hunger in the wealthiest nation on Earth. SNAP is the first line of defense against hunger, especially for children, disabled people, and the elderly. It lifts people out of poverty, and helps them avoid more severe and long term poverty. It generates economic activity, especially in local economies. None of these facts can be ignored, especially in times like ours. We have both economic incentive and moral imperative to sustain and support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

SNAP is an issue close to my heart and deeply rooted in my passion for food justice. My best friend relied on food stamps during one of the most difficult periods of her life. My previous work as a case manager involved helping my clients access nutrition and other public benefits. And now at the Campus Kitchen at UMass Boston I am working to develop a SNAP outreach initiative to bring more holistic and sustainable food security to the families we serve. Because 3 in 10 people living at risk of food insecurity are not getting food stamps, I want to help dispel the myths, fight the stigma, and educate people about their eligibility. Because the application process can be daunting and confusing, I want to help them get started. In this way, CKUMB can have an even greater and longer-term impact on hunger in Boston.

How can you help?

• Volunteer with CKUMB or the Campus Kitchen closest to you. Find your local food bank or other agency serving low-income communities and ask if they have outreach programs. If there’s nothing in your area, start something!
• Donate to support our outreach efforts.
• Educate yourself and others about food stamps facts and eligibility. Help a neighbor in need with the application process.

How can you get help?

• Call your state hotline number to ask questions.
• Read about eligibility and how to apply.
• Apply; even if you’re not 100% sure you’re eligible, it’s worth a shot if you’re in need.
• Call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3hungry or 1-877-8hambre to find emergency assistance today.

Container gardening for the urban farmer

By Matt Schnarr | May 8th, 2012 | Categories: Beyond the Kitchen

There’s nothing quite like the sweet taste of fresh, homegrown veggies straight from the garden. But what happens if you’re an urban gardener lacking enough space for a vegetable garden? Ever consider growing them in containers?

Did you know that nearly any type of vegetable, and many fruits, can be successfully grown in pots? From lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers to beans, potatoes, and even vine crops like squash and cucumbers thrive in containers. You can grow plants in virtually anything that holds some soil and has holes in the bottom for drainage. It’s only bounded by your imagination – a chance for some really creative recycling.

Suitable drainage is always important for the successful growth and health of all plants. So as long as you provide drainage holes, just about anything under the sun can be used for growing vegetables, from large coffee cans and wooden boxes to five-gallon buckets and old washtubs, even in the bed of a pick-up truck.

Potted vegetables can produce an adequate supply of food for urban gardeners without the need for large garden plots. Potted veggies also eliminate the need for continual maintenance as well and keep unwanted critters away. So if you’re an urban gardener looking for fresh, mouth-watering vegetables straight from the garden, why not consider some of these alternative container gardening methods? It is easy, economical, versatile, and fun! Having your own container vegetable garden not only provides you with the instant gratification of having healthy food, but can even save you money in the long run!

For more information on how to create your own container gardens check out these helpful resources! And these!