When you drive up to Sherman Elementary School in Sherman Heights, at first you only see building, concrete, and an open field.  Yet if you look closely on the north side of the building, nestled between a wall and the field, behind a tall fence, there is an oasis in this urban setting.  This is where the students of Sherman Elementary get to experience nature.

It has not always been this way.  When Christina Abuelo’s oldest son entered kindergarten at the school, it was an empty lot where the administration was planning to expand.  Christina envisioned a garden there and an opportunity for these students who live in or near one of the most resource poor neighborhoods in the city to actually see plants and vegetables growing.

Christina has not only built a garden she has built a community. 

Parents and community members eagerly work to keep the garden going, offering resources for the students.  This was evident on World Food Day on 10/16.  Sherman Elementary was awarded one of the Slow Food/FAO North America micro-grants to provide an activity for students and the community to bring attention to healthy and sustainable diets that are affordable and accessible to everyone.  

When the students entered the garden, they were given a recipe card to take with them to the tables where they selected and cut up their own vegetables to go in Vegetable Lentil Soup that they would prepare at home with their families.  Each child cut, measured, and added their vegetables to a bag, then wrote their recipe. After picking up a bag of lentils they were able to create a drawing of their experience which will be entered in the World Food Day poster contest. 

Over 100 students participated in this event, happily tasting some Vegetable Lentil Soup, trying some of the fresh vegetables, exploring the garden with the beautiful newly painted food mural in the background.

Good, clean, and fair food enjoyed by all!

This recap article was written by Julie Diaz, Slow Food Urban SD Education Chair