Miami Vegan Blog

LONGMONT — BellaVita School has taken its vegan menu into the hands of its students.

The Longmont preschool at 641 Terry St. has created a community garden behind its building. The hope is to grow 5 percent of the school’s food there, owner Rachel Frisius-Henderson said.

Parents, teachers and the children have been working on the garden this spring.

“We found worms!” Dylan Knipe, 3, exclaimed as the children came in from a morning of hard work on their garden May 15.

So far, they have turned their backyard into a tilled plot with compost, with raised plant beds and a path, Frisius-Henderson said. On May 15, they planted seeds and plants, most of which were donated.

The school also received a grant from the Beanstalk Foundation, she said.

BellaVita planted tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, strawberries, herbs, peas, spinach, kale, potatoes, sunflowers and carrots, Frisius-Henderson said. Two honey crisp apple trees also were planted on the school’s front lawn.

The preschool buys most of its food supplies from Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, Frisius-Henderson said.

“We’re all learning together how to plant and how to grow our own food,” she said. “One little girl said, ‘I used to think tomatoes were just in the store, but now I know they grow on plants!’”

[Source]