{"id":66639,"date":"2016-03-26T14:17:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-26T18:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=66639"},"modified":"2016-03-26T11:25:10","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T15:25:10","slug":"tractor-supply-companys-dig-it-launches-in-deruyter-morrisville-eaton-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=66639","title":{"rendered":"Tractor Supply Company’s ‘Dig It’ launches in DeRuyter, Morrisville-Eaton schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HR-M-ECS\"<\/a>Tractor Supply Company, the largest rural lifestyle retail store chain in the United States, has launched \u201cDig It,\u201d a school garden pilot program designed for students in the kindergarten through fifth grade across New York. Tractor Supply awarded $500 to 55 schools to either start or sustain a school garden program; DeRuyter Central School and Morrisville-Eaton Central School districts are among those participating.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a world where more than three out of four Americans believe children are more likely to know where Justin Bieber is from than where their food comes from, and that shows us the opportunity we have in our communities to help children learn more about their food source,\u201d said\u00a0Tractor Supply\u2019s Director of Store Marketing Lisa White. \u201cDig It gets kids outside and out of the traditional classroom setting, using their hands and minds in different ways that we hope will nurture a\u00a0growing curiosity about what is on their own dinner tables, while encouraging a budding interest in how the world around them works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tractor Supply partnered with the National Agriculture in the Classroom, an organization which promotes agricultural literacy, to create a curriculum centered on providing enriched, hands-on learning opportunities that reinforce responsibility and teamwork, while deepening the students\u2019 connection to where food comes from.<\/p>\n

\"DeRuyter<\/a>Dig It\u2019s lesson plans support what a majority of Americans believe to be important and beneficial when it comes to classroom learning. A recent opinion survey of 1,000 Americans commissioned by Tractor Supply found:<\/p>\n