SALAMANCA — Members of the Farm to School Committee and volunteers from Gakwi:yo:h Farms planted the Salamanca City Central School District’s garden on June 19.

In July 2024, the district was awarded a $50,000 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant to establish a garden in which indigenous/medicinal plantings and produce will be planted.

The grant program helps child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods into meals served through USDA’s National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids.

School staff and student workers plan to tend to the garden throughout the summer. Officials said they hope to see the fruits — or rather, the veggies — of their labor in the weeks to come.

The district’s garden will be established to not only benefit the Food Services Program by providing fresh fruits and vegetables, but will also serve as a learning space for the district students.

The curriculum will be utilized within the classroom and in the garden, which will enable the students to learn how growth habits and the biology of certain plants can complement each other to form a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship, as well as how to plant and care for the various plants.

Farm to School Committee members and volunteers from Gakwi:yo:h Farms plant the Salamanca City Central School District’s garden on June 19.