Ranchview High School was awarded a $9,990 grant from the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation to bolster its plant science program. The funding will be used to introduce new hydroponic growing techniques to students.
Madison Wynne, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Ranchview, spearheaded the grant application after expressing her interest in hydroponics to Fork Farms, a hydroponics farming business. Recognizing Wynne's vision, Fork Farms assisted her in identifying the Sprouts grant program and provided guidance throughout the application process.
"We're currently in the process of establishing a greenhouse, raised garden beds and a hoop house on campus thanks to CTE and the CFB Educational Foundation," Wynne explained. "This grant will fund a hydroponic opportunity and offer students a wider range of plant production experiences."
Wynne further emphasized the program's commitment to a "farm-to-fork" approach.
"We plan to collaborate with Ranchview's culinary program," she said, "allowing students to not only grow but also prepare healthy foods."
More about the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation:
The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit partners, from those working at the community level to those operating nationwide. With the size and scope of programs varying widely, Sprouts offers three levels of grants to meet partners’ unique needs.
Neighborhood Grant: A one-year grant up to $10,000. Recipients often support a single community, and funding is allocated to one program.
Healthy Communities Grant: A two-year grant, between $50,000 and $100,000. Funding supports the development and implementation of new programs, allowing organizations to serve a greater number of people.
Impact Grant: Three-year grants of varying amounts, determined by the scale of partners’ programs. Recipients are considered experts in their field, and their programs often span across cities and states, uplifting entire communities, providing nutrition education and food access programs, or producing critical research on these important topics.