It’s great when a grant can benefit a classroom, and it’s even better when it benefits the whole school.
Michael Craig at the Charles Drew Transition Center in Detroit, a school for older students with developmental disabilities, runs a sprawling agricultural program that uses up just about every piece of available land on campus and feeds the whole Detroit school district.
The students learn important skills they can take with them when they age out of the program and find full- or part-time employment in the horticultural industry.
His Meemic Foundation grant, specifically, funds one of the hoop houses on the grounds, along with a “strawberry wall” in a nearby courtyard. The hoop house supports a specialized salad garden with greens, tomatoes, herbs, peppers, radishes and more that will be used for the school lunch program. The strawberries are grown in special planters that can be hung on a wall.
In the following video, Michael talks with Meemic Foundation director Pam Harlin and agent Kim Simpson of the Kim-One Insurance Agency about the program, and shows off his students and their handiwork.