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Farms of Tuolumne County is proud to announce its FOTC Agricultural Grant Program awards. The Grant Program is directed toward youth in the county who are engaged in agriculture.
The Board of Directors voted to award grant money to two deserving projects: Kid’s Day at Peaceful Valley Certified Farmers Market and Motherlode Regional Juvenile Detention Facility (MLRJDF) garden.
Kid’s Day is a program whereby children are given “Veggie Bucks” to purchase produce from various vendors at the market. The goal of the project is to get children interested in eating healthy food. About the project, Erin O’Hare who manages the market, says “The hope is that when a child gets an opportunity to purchase fresh veggies that they have selected from the farmer that grew them it might plant in them a seed that will hopefully mature into a life-long love of vegetables, shopping local and taking part in a wonderful community that a farmers market tends to provide.”
The Motherlode Regional Juvenile Detention Facility (MLRJDF) garden is mentored by JoLynn Miller, 4-H Youth Development Advisor and Director of U.C. Cooperative Extension for Central Sierra. The garden project is extensive and this is the second FOTC Grant award to this endeavor. JoLynn says of the program “Since 2016 I have been working with students at MLRJDF using the e4-H model of experiential learning to introduce these under-served youths to various topics. Over the years we have watched seeds sprout, dissected flowers, built roller coasters, watched chickens hatch, and thanks to a 2018 grant by FOTC, expanded our garden.”
The FOTC Grant Program is usually funded by the FOTC Farm and Ranch Tour; however due to COVID restrictions the Farm and Ranch Tour has been put on hold for two years. The FOTC Board of Directors is planning one for June 2022.
Kid’s Day photo below MLRJDF photo below
