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Battle Creek urban farm offers children pathway to produce

Urban farming
Wikimedia | Linda/New Crops | CC BY 2.0

Battle Creek area schools are working with an urban farm to provide children with hands-on learning opportunities and a pathway to fresh produce.

The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that Sprout Urban Farms works with schools from pre-kindergarten to college to start gardens, incorporate plant life and gardens into daily lessons and operate fresh produce mobile markets.

It also offers assistance to residents who want to grow their own food and buys local wholesale produce to support small farmers.

Sprout leader Jeremy Andrews says the organization works with several local schools.

The group's "Farm to School" program and mobile markets are funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Binda Foundation, United Way, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennfield Schools Educational Foundation.

What Sprout does at each school is different.

At some schools it has built hoop houses for year-round growing.

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