At Seeds of Knowledge, Detroit kids grow and taste their own vegetables
DETROIT. At Seeds of Knowledge Creative Learning Center on the city's west side, founder ChaVonne McGowan has children plant, tend, and harvest their own vegetables as part of the center's program. Staff clear the grounds by 6 a.m. before students arrive each day to learn about soil, seasons, and the role insects play in the garden.
The program ends each month with Taste Test Fridays, when kids sample what they grew, neighbors can buy fresh produce, and families take harvests home. Parent volunteer Ricardo Brown, who was once a student in McGowan's middle school classroom, now has two children in the program himself.
The center's story runs as part of Rooted in Detroit: Stories from the Soil, a series backed by the Kresge Foundation and the Sustainability Institute of Detroit.
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