Over 60 Fanwood-Scotch Plains Y campers received their Square Foot Garden instruction during this year’s four-week summer camp
enrichment program, Cook and Grow, which supports the YMCA’s Core Values of Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility. Along with learning the basics of Square Foot Gardening, the campers develop a deeper relationship with nature, a greater appreciation for the food they grow, and an expanded sense of community.
Master Gardener and Certified Square Foot Garden (SFG) Instructor Bob Markey started teaching Y Campers in 2008 when he launched his YMCA Square Foot Gardening Summer Camp initiative at the Gateway YMCA in Rahway, New Jersey. In 2017 and 2018 the program expanded, teaching its gardening method at two additional facilities – the East Orange Y and the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Y. By 2019, the program was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization.
The program’s mission connects kids with nature by empowering them to grow, harvest, taste, and market the organic fruits and vegetables of their labor. The Square Foot Garden method originated in 1976, when civil engineer Mel Bartholomew set out to solve world hunger one square foot at a time. He said, “Mr. Bob’s Square Foot Gardening for Kids has done an excellent job of bringing a summer program that will give a lifetime of memories for all of the children associated with the Y and all of their programs”. Bartholomew’s “All New Square Foot Gardening” has sold more than 2.5 million copies and is the largest-selling garden book in the world.