(Jan. 2016) Tractor Supply Company the largest rural lifestyle retail store chain in the United States is now accepting applications for Dig It, a school garden pilot program targeted toward students in kindergarten through fifth grade across New York. Tractor Supply is partnering with the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization to offer $500 grants and is accepting applications through Friday, Jan. 15.
The grants are designed to help schools either start or sustain a school garden program. In partnering with the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization, Tractor Supply has created a curriculum using hands-on learning that reinforces responsibility and teamwork, while deepening the students’ connection to where food comes from.
“We are incredibly excited to offer this unique opportunity to schools in New York,” said Tractor Supply’s Director of Store Marketing Lisa White. “Gardening gives students hands-on learning opportunities, which gets them out of the traditional classroom setting. We see gardening as a gateway for students’ growing curiosity about what is on their own dinner tables, while nurturing a budding curiosity for how the world around them works.”
Dig It is designed around the upcoming growing season, beginning in February and lasting through the end of the school year. Each student will receive a kid-friendly garden tool set and a Master Gardener Certificate from Tractor Supply upon completion of the program curriculum.
Tractor Supply is launching the Dig It program in Tennessee and New York in 2016 and hopes to eventually expand the program nationwide.
To apply for the Dig It grant in New York, please visit http://www.agclassroom.org/teacher/tscgrant.htm.
Eligibility:
K-5 schools in the state of New York
Schools must be located within 30 miles of a Tractor Supply Company store