2021-22 GroMoreGood Garden Grant Winners

Washington, D.C. – Now in its fourth year, the program through The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and NHSA is awarding 10 grants to Head Start programs committed to connecting more of our nation’s youth to the benefits of gardening and outdoor play. This year’s 2021-22 GroMoreGood garden grants winner are:

1. Acelero Freehold Little Sprouts garden at Acelero Learning in Freehold, NJ
2. Bunny Garden at the Association to Benefit Children in New York, NY
3. Manning Garden the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project-Manning in Manning, SC
4. Futures Unlimited Green Space at Futures Unlimited, Inc., in Wellington, KS
5. Near South Little Sprouts garden at the Henry Booth House in Chicago, IL
6. Taconi Head Start Garden at the Jackson County Civic Action Committee in Jackson, MS
7. Early Head Start South Garden at the Maternity Care Coalition in Paoli, PA
8. The Mountain Center Community Garden at Pocono Services for Families and Children in Tobyhanna, PA
9. The Seedling to a Head Start garden at the Raleigh County Community Action Association in Beckley, WV
10. Verner Experiential Garden at the Verner Center for Early Learning in Asheville, NC

“With so much disruption in children’s lives over the past few years, going outside and getting your hands dirty in the soil have provided an outlet and a source of hope for so many people,” said Ann Aquillo, vice president of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at ScottsMiracle-Gro. “Seeing the pure joy on the faces of kids taking part in the GroMoreGood program has been incredible. We look forward to the new and updated garden experiences our grant recipients will create this year.”

The GroMoreGood grants are part of Scotts Miracle-Gro initiative, which aims to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens and green spaces to 10 million children by 2023. This is the fourth year of the program and it has supported 48 existing and new garden projects for Head Start programs (including this year). Review winners from 2021, 2020, and 2019.

“Nature is the ultimate classroom. Everything Head Start children learn in the garden ties into science, math, health, nutrition, and physical activity as well as literacy and, especially in centers where there are many languages spoken, language acquisition,” said NHSA Executive Director Yasmina Vinci. “NHSA is proud to partner with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation to encourage experiential learning, foster curiosity, and support lifelong healthy habits for another 2,500 children and their families across the country this year.”

These gardens across the country will plan to grow a wide variety of plants, including: amaranth, apples, ballerina roses, basil, beans, beef steak tomatoes, bell pepper, berries of all kinds, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cherries, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, collard greens, coneflowers, corn, crepe myrtle trees, cucumbers, daisies, dogwood trees, eggplant, garlic, green beans, honeysuckle, jalapeños, lavender, lemon balm, lettuces, milkweed, mint, okra, oregano, pansies, papalo, parsley, pears, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, purslane, radishes, red shiso, snap peas, spinach, squash, strawberries, string beans, sunflowers, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, violets, watermelon, and zucchini. Portions of the harvest will be used in Head Start classrooms and portions will be donated to Head Start families and local food agencies.

The grants winners were announced during NHSA’s 2022 Winter Leadership Institute where leaders of the Head Start community from across the nation convened for four days of advocacy training, innovative panels, and results-oriented workshops.