We are touched by the stories from our wonderful community members - students, teachers, parents, sponsors, community partners - who have felt the positive impact of HFHK firsthand. Their words highlight the difference we make together, and we are proud to share these testimonials with you.

“Today we went outside to harvest spinach. … Today was a fun day. I hope next year they plant a garden again.” -

Tobi, 4th grade, Lombardy Elementary

“Pandemic schooling was missing so much. There were no field trips. There were no presentations or assemblies. This garden was all of that for us. It was the “special” part of our days and weeks…When we harvested, the children beamed at the full bags of greens. They tried foods they might never have tried before. They learned. They grew as much as the plants grew. We didn’t just bring the garden back to life; we brought our classroom connections back to life with teamwork, cooperation, pride, some dirty knees – and a big salad bar! “ -

Maggie Kite, Garden Coordinator, McVey Elementary

“Today we harvested spinach. It was very fun. …. I definitely want to do it again!” -

Breena, 4th grade, Lombardy Elementary

“I was pleasantly surprised at how well the program was run. I’m glad my son had been exposed to the wonderful program. He tends to be picky, so I think it has opened his horizon.” -

Springer Middle School, parent

“Not only has the garden been a wonderful lesson in learning about planting, preparing the soil, harvesting, and tasting, it’s also given our children a sense of what it is like to watch something mature and grow from one small seed to a vegetable that is delicious and nutritious. For many of the children, having a garden at school is their first attempt at planting something in their own backyard. This was one of the best experiences of their lives.” -

Principal Denise Schwartz, Downes Elementary

“Growing our garden was exciting. We watched the plants grow and made sure they had water. I felt proud of myself being a gardener.” -

Alondra, 3rd grade, McVey Elementary

“…Thank you for telling us about plants and their parts. It was fun harvesting the lettuce, I liked to see the cool bugs. And I learned a lot that day.” -

Nathan, 3rd grade, Lombardy Elementary

"My class loved the salad! They said the radishes tasted like spicy carrots" -

Mrs. Prestipino, 2nd grade class teacher, Sussex Academy

“A school garden is more than just planting seeds; it’s a living classroom where students can connect with nature, learn about sustainability, try new foods, and cultivate a love for healthy eating.” -

Connie Hendricks, Dean of Elementary at Sussex Academy

“I was really happy and paid attention to what I needed to do to harvest the vegetables. I really enjoyed eating what we grew.” -

Ismael, 3rd grade, McVey Elementary

“The garden provides my students with experiences no textbook, videos, or curriculum lesson can provide. Students are learning what it takes for a seed to grow, how the weather system will affect the growth of the plants, and how to plot and graph plant growth. The community garden has served as a living laboratory that provides a real-world context for lessons across subject areas.”

- Diane Mahotiere, STEM teacher, Shortlidge Academy

“After tasting radishes from the school garden, my son came home and asked me to buy radishes! He is only 7, so it hadn’t occurred to me that he would like them, but he loves them!” -

Downes Elementary, parent

Time in the garden, teaching the students how to grow and harvest their own food helped nurture an appreciation and awareness of healthy foods… Our students took pride in our fall garden…It was not uncommon to see students observing the garden beds during recess...Beginning the day in the garden was, hands down the best way, to start the day! -

Mrs. Rusk, Garden Coordinator Hanby Elementary

“I loved harvesting. It was so much fun. I learned how to pick spinach. It was interesting how some leaves were really big and some were small. My favorite thing that we did was pinching the spinach (leaves off). Thank you so much.” -

Liliana, 4th grade, Lombardy Elementary

“Growing the garden took a long time and I watched our seeds grow until we ate them. I was so happy that we grew a big garden and got to make salads.” -

Tariq, 3rd grade, McVey Elementary

“Great program, we need more like this in more schools statewide.” -

Springer Middle School, parent

“I’ve always thought I had more of a black thumb than a green thumb. I’ve learned that life will be much easier if I grow my own food, so I won’t have to spend a lot of money on store bought food.”

- Nativity Preparatory, middle school student

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