Daniel Island Academy named South Carolina Farm to Preschool Program Site
Daniel Island Academy has been selected as a South Carolina Farm to Preschool Program grant recipient. This is the first school within Berkeley County to receive site designation and funding. The SC Farm to Preschool Program connects preschools with local agriculture with the goals of increasing the number of South Carolina grown fruits and vegetables in preschools, improving children’s nutrition, supporting the local economy and enhancing agriculture and nutrition education.
Establishing and maintaining a garden in a learning environment provides a wonderful opportunity for hands-on learning and instills a sense of pride in accomplishments. Additional benefits to gardening include development of fine and gross motor skills; learning opportunities for math, science, language and literacy skills; an increase in real-life and self-help skills; and an introduction to healthy foods and environmental awareness. Daniel Island Academy teachers, staff and students started the preschool garden in 2005. Over the years many fruits, herbs and vegetables have been planted, nurtured, harvested, cooked, eaten and composted at the campus on Daniel Island.
“At Daniel Island Academy we have the privilege of helping young children explore healthy eating options that can shape lifelong eating habits, so when the mentor teachers brought the Farm to Preschool Program application to me, I immediately knew it was a beneficial match,” stated School Chef, Michelle Lackey.
“We are thrilled to be accepted into this program and are appreciative and excited about the new initiatives we have planned for the garden and classroom connection,” School Director Kerry Nowosielski added.
The South Carolina Farm to School Program originated in 2011 as a two-year project funded from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Since inception it has expanded to include more funded schools and other institutions. In 2012 the first SC Farm to Preschool grants were awarded. In 2015, the umbrella organization South Carolina Farm to Institution was founded to encompass a variety of institutional sites beyond preschools and schools.