Support School Gardens – Contact Your Representative

On August 4, 2009, an amendment introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders of
Vermont to provide 2 million dollars to fund a “school community garden
pilot program” was unanimously approved as part of the Senate Ag
Appropriations Bill, which passed the Senate on the same date.

Gardens are powerful educational tools, providing opportunities for children to experience the natural world as they develop strong academic skills and positive attitudes toward fresh fruits and vegetables, and learn important sociological skills that enhance the quality of their lives. Says one teacher from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Charter Elementary School in California, “Children demonstrated a better understanding of concepts and applied them in more sophisticated ways after having instruction in the garden.”

The Sanders amendment funding the program will now go through the conference committee process with the House of Representatives.

I encourage you to contact your representatives in Washington to urge them to keep the funding for the program in the final Agriculture Appropriations bill.

Please click here to send a letter in support of the funding.

As you contact Congress about the bill, I recommend focusing on members of the conference committee, who are listed below. These are the members who will have the most sway over whether the funding is ultimately kept in the bill, and we anticipate that they will make their decision by the end of the September 2009. Thank you again for all of your help!

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONACT:
Office of Senator Bernard Sanders
332 Senate Dirksen Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-5141