The Carrot Academy is an initiative to offer alternative classroom like experiences to youth at our LOVE Building facility. A traditional Academy event allows children to go out into the garden and work with plants, weed and harvest, compost and plant. They will take some of their bounty into the kitchen, prepare their meal and sit down and talk about a topic related to their self sufficiency, self esteem and sustainable food systems. Then they wash up and put their dishes away.
If that seems simple-minded, then you get our concept. We focus on things like building knife skills, thorough dish washing techniques, safe food storage and seed saving. The Carrot Academy is an experience that 50 years ago would have been so common place that there would have been laughter rather than awe at this community education offering. But in this day and age where most our food experiences are detached, cheap and low investment, this is is in extremely high demand.
Trish Virgin, the coordinator of the educational programming at our facility, is great collaborator and welcomes both teachers and students who have ideas how this format could lead to deeper understanding of our health and local food system. Among her talents she is a great gardener, a developing cook and an amazing listener. Please contact her by email or call her at 615-209-8803.
The programs offered at the LOVE Building are in partnership with Healthy, Wealthy, Wise Inc., a new stand-alone, non-profit organization that will take over several programs created by GFGP with the intent to facilitate healthy eating through both access and education. The bigger mission of the organization will be to get good food into the hands of the most food insecure people in Nashville, including senior citizens, children and low-income families.
