Central Elementary School honored with "Arkansas Grown Start-Up Garden of the Year" Award

Central Elementary School was recently honored by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson with the 2018 Arkansas Grown "Start-Up Garden of the Year" Award. Leaders from Central and the District were presented the awards at a special ceremony at the State Capitol in Little Rock on October 10. During the event, Governor Hutchinson also proclaimed October as "Farm to School Month." 

Central was one of only five schools in the entire state honored at the ceremony.  Along with the recognition, the school also received a $500 prize, courtesy of Farm Credit.

“School gardens bring agriculture, our state’s largest industry, to life for Arkansas students,” said Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. “Congratulations to the 2018 Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year awardees. We are honored to continue this program another year and support school garden initiatives across Arkansas. We appreciate the sponsorship provided by Farm Credit that makes this important program possible.”

The Arkansas Agriculture Department and Farm Credit of Arkansas started the contest in 2014 to promote the importance of involving young people in the process of fresh food production and cultivation. Any Arkansas school, grades pre-K-12,with a working school garden during the 2017-2018 school year, or a startup proposal for the 2018-2019 school year was eligible to apply.

This was the second year in a row for Van Buren to have at least one of its schools recognized with a Garden of the Year Award. Last year, King and Tate Elementary Schools took home prizes for their gardens. "Our school gardens have experienced tremendous success and we are thrilled with the impact they are having on our students," said VBSD Activities Administrator, Drew Cone. "This award is a testament to the hard work our staff, students, and FoodCorps service members have put into establishing and caring for these gardens."