Nonprofit MEVO Wins $207,000 Federal Grant to Bring Gardens and a Greenhouse to All Six Mahwah Schools, the Only Award in Bergen County
The Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization (MEVO), a nonprofit, has received a $207,000 federal grant that will bring school gardens, a greenhouse and hands-on agricultural lessons to all six township schools in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is the organization's second USDA Farm to School grant and the only one awarded in Bergen County.
The grant will fund gardens at three additional schools, a greenhouse at Mahwah High School and expanded agricultural programming for students at different grade levels. An earlier grant in 2024 brought gardens to the township's three elementary schools, where third graders ran taste tests in school cafeterias, took part in in-garden programming and visited the organization's Fresh Roots Farm on Campgaw Mountain Reservation.
The expanded curriculum is tailored by grade: third graders get lessons on plant growth and seasonal eating, fifth graders explore herb cultivation, seventh graders study soil health, and high school seniors are eligible for summer and fall agricultural internships covering greenhouse management and crops of cultural significance such as the Munsee Wampum bean. MEVO Executive Director Violet Reed said the funding allows the program to scale district-wide. MEVO is a youth-led environmental nonprofit founded in 2008; it estimates 12,000 volunteers have provided over 70,000 hours of environmental service.
Source: Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一名儿童在菜园里用小工具翻土。来源：Shixart1985，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。 / Photo: A child digging in a garden with a small tool. Source: Shixart1985, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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