The summer season of Seed to Sauce is in full swing at both the Community Garden and Farm.  The program has seen incredible growth this year with past participants continuing and new groups reaching out, wanting to be a part of the program.  

"Already after just one year, teachers have heard about Seed to Sauce and are reaching out to us asking to bring the program to their classrooms," said LEC Program Manager Cora Uyigue.  "It highlights the need for hands-on, outdoor learning for our students."  

Both new and returning groups will be coming out for hands-in-the-dirt gardening experiences this summer.  LEC and MY Place have been partnering since before Seed to Sauce began, this will be our 7th year working together to provided weekly gardening classes for the youth at MY Place.  Many of the MY Place kids have participated in previous years and Uyigue said they are looking forward to getting back to their garden plot on Good Counsel Hill.  "Kids are already asking if were going to be making the dip and pizzas again this year," she said.  "They are looking forward to it and are excited to get going."

Through our partnership with MY Place, LEC works with both elementary and middle school aged youth, this year we have added a fourth weekly gardening class, meaning over 50 youth from MY Place will be attending weekly gardening classes this summer!

Other returning groups include Loyola summer school and new partnerships through ISD77 will bring different groups out to the Community Farm this summer including Monroe Elementary and Camp Invention, as well as new partnerships with Head Start and ECFE (Early Childhood and Family Education).  "Working with the kids through Seed to Sauce offers students a different way to interact with the world around them," Uyigue said.  "When they are learning outside with things they can touch, it makes things interactive and exciting while teaching them skills they can continue to use for the rest of their lives."