• November 17, 2009

Welch's and Scholastic Parent & Child magazine are sponsoring a "Harvest Grants" program that will assist 100 winning schools nationwide in growing fruit and vegetable gardens.

The goal is to give thousands of children the opportunity to participate in a "hands-on learning experience that can help bring to life subjects such as science, math and even literacy" and also help them better understand the origins of their food supply, according to the sponsors.

Starting this month and through Feb. 6, K-8 teachers are being invited to apply online at scholastic.com/harvest to win one of the 100 grants, which have a combined value of $35,000.

Entries will be judged by experts at the National Gardening Association, who will select two schools in every state to receive Welch's Harvest Grants. Welch's will award $1,000 packages to five schools, $500 packages to 25 schools, and $250 packages to 70 schools. Each package will include tools, seeds and educational materials.--Karlene Lukovitz