Dear MVGers -

I am taking this brief break from our usual format to update you on our exciting campaign to end the ban on school vegetable gardens in Montgomery County - and to tell you how you can help.

This week has been a busy one: we just delivered our open letter to MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast, asking that he revoke the ban on school vegetable gardens.  The letter had the signatures of 16 Montgomery County organizations - and two more signed on within hours after seeing the press release!  We continue to seek organizational endorsements/signatures for the open letter to Superintendent Weast, which you can read here.

We are delighted that the letter has garnered some immediate press attention.  The Parents Coalition of Montgomery County posted the press release on their blog, which was chosen as one of the favoirite area blog posts by "Lori's AM Buzz" on the Washington Post online today.  You can check out the Post blog entry here.

In addition, Montgomery County's paper of record, The Gazette, wrote about our effort before the press release even came out. You can click here to read their story, "Community Groups Seek to Grow Gardens at Schools."

Now this is where you come in.  We need to build sustained public pressure to convince MCPS officials of the wisdom of allowing vegetable gardens on school grounds, and we need to start building that now.  Can you write a Letter to the Editor to The Gazette, to follow up on this excellent first article?

Letters to The Gazette should be no more than 200 words, and should be emailed to letters@gazette.net  (You can also write a hard copy letter and mail it to them, Attention Commentary Editor, at 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD  20877).

There will be more opportunities, but the sooner we can start showing massive public support for school gardens, the better, so thanks for writing them a quick letter today (or this weekend... or early next week!).

Another way you can help is with a generous (and tax-deductible) financial contribution to support the campaign.  I will spare you the details of our website and computer costs (even these emails cost money!), travel expenses and materials, not to mention the staff time put into this campaign, but please be aware that these expenses do exist, and funding is critical to keep this campaign going  strong.

Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to Montgomery Victory Gardens campaign to End the Ban on School Vegetable Gardens!

That's it for now.  We'll be back with the usual MVG update next week, but thanks for doing whatever you can between now and then to further our campaign to bring vegetable gardens to our Montgomery County schools! 

With best regards,

Gordon Clark,
Project Director
Montgomery Victory Gardens

p.s. - I am beginning to think that vegetable gardens may not only be a good thing for the schools, they might be one of the best things possible.  I attended a meeting of the MC Obesity Prevention Strategy Group yesterday, and heard MCPS Food Services staff explain that it is hard to get school kids to try vegetables.  Can you guess what all the latest studies prove is the best possible way to get kids to try vegetables and adopt healthy eating habits?  You got it - school vegetable gardens!

Thanks again for doing what you can to help support the campaign, including writing a Letter to the Editor to The Gazette, and making a tax-deductible contribution to the effort!