By Johnna Pinholster
VALDOSTA — J.L. Lomax Elementary School students took a tour of America’s Second Harvest of South Georgia facilities on Thursday.
The students are part of the Plant a Row for the Hungry program at the school. They brought various vegetables from their school garden to give to the food bank to help feed the hungry.
Broccoli, sweet potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes and bell peppers were presented to the food bank by the students.
Unessee Hargett, Ag Research coordinator at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus, comes down once a week to help the students with their garden.
The purpose of the garden is to teach students about agriculture and how produce gets from the field to the table and the importance of helping those who are less fortunate, he said.
The students are involved in the whole process, from seed planting to harvest, Harvey said.
During the tour of the food bank, the students learned about how the items brought into the facility are processed and distributed. They were shown the inspection room, where food is inspected to make sure it is not too old, first.
The students even got to spend a few minutes in the food bank’s freezer, with most coming out shaking and shivering.
They also saw the kitchen, where thousands of meals are made each day to feed children at after-school programs all over the county.
The favorite room was the Teacher’s Harvest section of the facility. The newest addition to the food bank serves as an educational supply outlet for teachers to get supplies for students who may not be able to afford them. Teachers can get the supplies free of charge.
Kamron McBurrough, 10, said he enjoys working in the garden at school.
“I get to dig, mess with the soil and plant seeds,” McBurrough, a fifth grader, said. Kindergarten teachers Judy Duncan and Obeatrice Simmons were two of the escorts for the field trip to the food bank.
Gifted teacher Alicia Clarke serves as the advisor for the garden at J.L. Lomax Elementary School.
“I live it because they love it,” Clarke said. “I enjoy seeing their smiling faces.”
Students are chosen from each class by the teachers to participate in the garden.
Plant a Row for the Hungry is a program of the Garden Writers Association that encourages people to plant an extra row in their garden, which should then be harvested and donated to a local food bank, soup kitchen, church, social agency or Salvation Army.
