Marshall Traditional School celebrates new garden beds with Unity Gardens

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Students at South Bend's Marshall Traditional School got their hands dirty Thursday morning while planting the first fruits and vegetables in their new garden beds, courtesy of Unity Gardens.

Back in October, the school got a $3,000 grant to bring the gardens to their campus to grow things like strawberries, tomatoes and flowers.

They even learned how to use worms and compost to help the plants grow.

It's been a group effort for the elementary schoolers.

"I've been looking forward to planting and having fun while planting and us each, like, doing it together, not just on our own," said Ella, one of the students who helped bring the garden to life.

Ultimately, students are excited to see the gardens thrive and pick food for themselves.

"You get to water them and get to watch them grow," said Amariah.

"And they're pretty," said Julianna.

The two of them helped start the garden by growing some of its plants from seed inside.

The gardens are just one way Unity Gardens is making healthy food accessible to the community.

"So doing it in a school, and like a school here where they're doing it right out front is perfect so the neighborhood can see it, the kids can get involved, so it's really just about getting the kids to start understanding the food or just understanding that it's okay to stick their hands in dirt or touch a bug.," said Mitch Yaciw, Operations Manager at Unity Gardens.

Once plants are fully grown, neighbors will also be able to pick food for themselves.