{"id":6070,"date":"2017-08-09T10:25:43","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T14:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/?p=6070"},"modified":"2017-08-17T14:25:07","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T18:25:07","slug":"ghc-grows-260-pounds-produce-donate-charger-food-pantry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/2017\/08\/09\/ghc-grows-260-pounds-produce-donate-charger-food-pantry\/","title":{"rendered":"GHC grows 260 pounds of produce to donate to the Charger Food Pantry"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: As of (8\/10\/2017), GHC has harvested over 327 pounds of produce to donate to the Charger Food Pantry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A humble 160-square-foot plot of grow space split between a greenhouse and raised beds at Georgia Highlands College\u2019s Cartersville location is responsible for 260 pounds of produce being donated to GHC\u2019s Charger Food Pantry.<\/p>\n

The Charger Food Pantry was started in 2016 to meet the needs of food insecurity among college students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem of food insecurity is increasingly on the radar of many college administrators,\u201d GHC Director of Student Support Services Angela Wheelus said. \u201cStudents are sometimes finding it difficult to focus or even stay in class, so if we can remove one of those barriers by providing access to food, then that\u2019s what we need to do here at GHC. Many of our students are non-traditional, supporting families and working full-time while attending college. Food insecurity cuts across all demographics. That\u2019s where GHC\u2019s Charger Food Pantry comes in.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although the pantry is stocked with staple items like peanut butter, tuna, spaghetti sauce and other non-perishable food items, as well as personal items, students in need were unable to get fresh produce.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where the faculty and staff of GHC\u2019s Natural Science and Physical Education division stepped in.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we determined the ideal location, we started the design and construction process,\u201d Dean of Natural Science and Physical Education Greg Ford said. \u201cThe goals of the project were always to support academic research opportunities for faculty and students as well as to address food insecurities and the needs of the Charger Food Pantry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford plans to expand the produce program from the Cartersville location to each of GHC\u2019s locations. They are currently working with students in GHC\u2019s student group Green Highlands to determine the best locations for additional gardens. The next one is planned for the Floyd campus.<\/p>\n

The effort to grow produce for the pantry has been a labor of love for those at GHC.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe greenhouse is managed by Joseph Collins, our laboratory coordinator in Cartersville, and several members of the faculty and staff work with Joseph to plan the planting season, maintain the greenhouse and harvest the produce,\u201d Ford said. \u201cWe have also had student volunteers from Green Highlands working alongside us throughout the entire process, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins stated he hopes the produce inside the greenhouse will eventually be year-round, giving the pantry a steady supply at all times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have donated 260.49 pounds of produce for the food pantry,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to grow produce that we think people will enjoy and will also provide a good value. This season we have grown potatoes, tomatoes, snap peas, summer squash, green beans, okra, carrots, cucumbers, peppers and watermelon.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Collins explained that now that they are able to provide the fresh produce, they are looking for ways to provide students with simple recipes for easy-to-prepare meals using these fresh ingredients.<\/p>\n

The GHC greenhouse is supported by a number of other individuals, as well, including Instructor of Biology Jason Christian, who has managed the engineering and construction of the greenhouse and raised beds; Associate Professor of Biology Jackie Belwood and Laboratory Coordinator Devan Rediger, who were involved in the early planning stages, have helped maintain the facility and worked to get the produce in the food pantry; and Professor of Biology Sharryse Henderson, who has provided additional resources for the project.<\/p>\n

GHC\u2019s Charger Food Pantry currently spans across all five of GHC\u2019s locations across Northwest Georgia. Should you wish to donate to GHC\u2019s Charger Food Pantry, please make monetary donations at any GHC business office in Rome, Cartersville, Marietta, Paulding or Douglasville. To make non-perishable food donations, please contact Student Support Services at: sss@highlands.edu<\/p>\n

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PHOTO: GHC Laboratory Coordinator Joseph Collins weighs this week\u2019s intake of fresh produce grown at GHC for the Charger Food Pantry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: As of (8\/10\/2017), GHC has harvested over 327 pounds of produce to donate to the Charger Food Pantry.   A humble 160-square-foot plot of grow space split between a greenhouse and raised beds at Georgia Highlands College\u2019s Cartersville location is responsible for 260 pounds of produce being donated to GHC\u2019s Charger Food Pantry. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6070"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6101,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070\/revisions\/6101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highlands.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}