In The News

Bay Area Bites: http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/05/07/berkeley-school-cooking-and-gardening-programs-in-jeopardy/

Berkeleyside - School Board Hearing: http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/05/09/berkeley-works-to-save-schools-edible-programs/

Ready for a Challenge?

There are several families and community members who have offered a matching fund. So your donations will be doubled dollar for dollar, up to $5,000.

Word!

Two six graders from Willard, Collin and Sev wrote a poem to show their support for the gardening and cooking program.  Enjoy.

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Not only do Willard students plant, cook and eat their veggies, they also film, direct and edit their videos!  Willard students take action to save their gardening and cooking program!

Film by Raj...Enjoy the show.

Get Involved - Donate, Vote, Sing, and Run!

Donate:  You can donate to Willard PTA: http://willard.berkeleypta.org/give.html

Vote:  Willard submitted a grant to Seeds of Change. Vote for Willard on Seeds of Change Facebook page and help us move to phase two of the grant process. Unfortunately you can't vote from a mobile phone. To vote:

1. Visit www.sharethegoodgrant.com and "LIKE" the Seeds of Change Facebook page.
2. Search for Willard's program using 94705 zip code.
3. Click the VOTE button!  
4. Share with your friends
5. Vote again. You and your friends can vote once a day until May 17.  

Voting for the Seeds of Change grant is over.  We made it to the next phase. Thanks for all those who voted and voted again and again and again. 

Upcoming Events - Mark Your Calendar:
May 16:  Grease Sing-Along at the Elmwood Theatre.  Buy your tickets NOW. http://www.rialtocinemas.com/index.php?location=elmwood&film=2010_grease
Thanks for making this a huge success.  And a big thank you to the Elmwood Theatre for all the years of support.  Now for the run...

June 2:  Run for the Garden. Join us or sponsor the Willard team for the first annual Run for the Garden 5K run.

Did You Know?

Did you know Willard's Gardening and Cooking Program:

• grows 20 to 30 different types of vegetable and fruit on 1/3 acre.
• cans over 450 pounds of tomatoes to use on the 900 pizzas for four school events.
• harvests enough produce to use during cooking classes for over 500 students (53% qualify for free and reduced lunch)

Berkeleyside Article

Berkeleyside's article on the loss of funding for the district wide gardening and cooking programs, including Willard.  Read the article but look at the beautiful pictures taken at Willard School.

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/04/16/berkeley-schools-cooking-gardening-programs-in-peril/

Chickens? At Willard?

Did you know there are chickens at Willard?  I didn't. Yup.  Chickens.  Ask your child about them.  They chuck, they run around and they sit on the kids' laps.

He's More Than Your Average Ultimate Frisbee Coach

Send Your Letter To The School Council

The Berkeley School Council will decide on a district-wide gardening and cooking proposal before their May 8th meeting.  Let the School Council know that Willard supports the gardening and cooking program.  Personalize if you can.  When you add your name to the letter, please include that you are from Willard.

Get Involved And Save Our Garden

Please read this post.  
It's not long and we need everyone's help to save the program.

Because of changes in the federal funding structure, Willard and most schools in Berkeley (except King, which has funding from Edible Schoolyard) are losing funding for the garden/cooking programs for next year.  For years, Berkeley has led the charge in changing how kids eat – via the school gardens, cooking classes and school lunches.  These programs have national impact, making gardening and cooking a vital part of hands on science learning and encouraging kids to expand their culinary habits (like tasting and liking radishes).