MRPS PIE is collaborating with Main Street Middle School (MSMS) to form The Garden Collective. If you are interested in strengthening our local food system and supporting the garden initiatives at our schools, please add your email to our list. Open to anyone who wants to contribute to our local food system!

Share-A-Plot:

Dedicate a portion of your garden this year to MSMS_Sustain and the MSMS Sustainability Class, where middle schoolers prepare ready-to-eat meals for Just Basics and Roxbury food pantries, and the MRPS Supplemental Nutrition Program. These meals are a nutritious and popular addition to these programs. You can help by dedicating a portion of your garden to grow some of the following ingredients:

  • Onions

  • Potatoes

  • Cilantro

  • Basil

  • Butternut Squash / Other Winter Squash

  • Bell / Red Peppers

  • Tomatoes

  • Cucumbers (for pickles)

  • Zucchini (within reason!)

  • Apples (If you have an apple tree close to MSMS, they’d love to come pick your apples in the Fall!)

Some of the meals they prepare are burritos, chili, soup, and applesauce. 

Let us know what you plan to grow using this Google Doc. This is an emerging process and all ideas/suggestions are welcome! Don’t worry if things change as the season goes on, or even if your crop is not successful. Please email us with questions or comments. This is a community effort and we look forward to sharing ideas!

Produce will be collected after school starts on August 27, so plan accordingly. If we have gardeners that live near the school or to each other, we may be able to organize student pick-up and harvests. Contact Drew with any ideas! Join the email list above and we’ll keep you up-to-date on what’s new, and let you know of possible Garden Collective summer gatherings!

We hope our collective efforts will add significantly to this community program. Currently food is sourced from a variety of other sources: 

  • MSMS Garden (check it out in the rear playground)

  • Donated vegetables from local farms and individuals

  • Gleaning programs, including a collaboration with Community Harvest

  • Surplus food from the cafeteria

Led by teachers Don Taylor and Drew McNaughton, is a learning program predicated on the belief that students of the 21st century must know and understand issues related to climate change, sustainability and social justice.

UES School Garden

We are also working with staff at UES in the planning stages of creating a student garden at UES - stay tuned for more information as this project evolves! For questions or for more information on this initiative, send us an email.

The goal of the GARDEN COLLECTIVE is to connect with our community on various food-related projects, bring neighbors together around the topic of local food and to help address the widespread food insecurity that many experience every day. Please share with anyone you think may be interested.

Questions? Send us an email!