Asbury Park Schools Partner With Colts Neck To Cultivate Land

ASBURY PARK, NJ - In the city school district's blog, officials wrote about their Dec. 20 land dedication ceremony.

Now, they were not breaking ground for a new school or gym. They were in the mood for some SUSHI, otherwise known as Suburban and Urban School Health Initiative.

Spearheaded by Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, the program pairs pupils from the district's Thought Leader After-School Academy - otherwise known as TLAA - with their counterparts from Colts Neck Township School District.

The program's goal is to promote healthy lifestyles and increase awareness about nutrition and physical activity for Monmouth County residents. The young people take frequent trips to the Allaire Community Farm in Wall Township to get hands-on instruction about harvesting what they grow. The land dedication was about setting aside some earth in which the students could grow something healthy and good for them and their families in the hope that habits begun early will last lifetimes.

Over the past couple of months, the two groups have met weekly to learn more about farm-to-table healthy-eating initiatives.

Both school districts will dedicate land. And both districts also have committed to the continual learning and growing of crops to further understand the harvesting way of life.

Children at the Common Good City Farm in Washington, D.C. Asbury and Colts Neck children hope to establish their own gardens. Photograph by Evan Vuco/Associated Press.