Kids at the Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention Center donated approximately 100 pounds of fresh produce from their Pat Andersen School Garden to five area charities on Friday, August 24th. The fresh produce that was donated consisted of potatoes, carrots, onions, raspberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. The produce, which was grown from seed by the juvenile detainees, was divvied up and presented to representatives from the Caldwell Senior Center, Hope’s Door, C.A.T.C.H. of Caldwell, Canyon County Office on Aging (CCOA) and the Salvation Army. So far this year, the Pat Andersen School Garden at the Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention Center has yielded more than 1,000 pounds of produce that has been given to charities across Canyon County.
The Pat Andersen School Garden is funded mostly by a grant from the Idaho State Department of Education and through the help of more than a dozen local sponsors who have donated seeds, soil, mulch, plants, fertilizer, irrigation supplies, lumber and other items. The garden, which started growing in the spring of 2011, acts as an outdoor classroom for the juvenile detainees and gives them hands-on experience as they work towards the common goal of creating a thriving vegetable garden.