WCAC Head Start and Regional Environmental Council Bring Six Garden Beds to Southbridge Preschool
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Worcester Community Action Council Head Start and Regional Environmental Council Bring Six Garden Beds to
Southbridge Preschool
Partnership gives Southbridge’s youngest learners a hands-on outdoor classroom for growing, tasting, and learning about fresh food
SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. — Worcester Community Action Council (WCAC) Head Start and the Regional Environmental Council (REC) are partnering to install six raised garden beds at WCAC’s Head Start center in Southbridge at 25 Cole Ave. The beds will create an outdoor classroom where children ages 3 to 5 plant, tend, and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs alongside their teachers and families.
The installation date is scheduled for November 13, 2026.
At the heart of the project are the children. Planting seeds, watering, and harvesting give 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds a direct connection to where their food comes from, at the age when eating habits first take shape. The garden also becomes a natural extension of the classroom, where children count seedlings, watch plants change week to week, and build new words to describe what they see, touch, and taste.
That learning reaches beyond the children themselves. For teachers, the beds offer an outdoor space that brings lessons to life, backed by REC’s school gardens program, which supports partner sites with garden-based lessons, volunteer help, compost, and seedlings. The garden also gives families a new way to take part in their children’s education. Head Start considers parents their children’s first teachers, and the garden opens the door to family planting days, harvest celebrations, and conversations about healthy food at home. Produce will be used in the classroom while also sending additional produce home with the children. Coupled with the curriculum will be a carefully crafted list of book recommendations for the children, families and staff.
Beyond the classroom, the partnership connects Southbridge with one of Central Massachusetts’ longest-standing food justice organizations. Since 1972, REC has worked for environmental sustainability and social justice in the region, and its UGROW network now supports more than 60 community and school gardens.
“Our children learn best when they can touch, dig, and discover. These garden beds give them a place to see where food comes from and to be proud of something they grew themselves — and they give our families one more way to be part of that learning. Allowing our families to build a relationship with food is the goal and has been proven to increase a positive relationship with food for growing children. Learning happens inside and outside of the classroom,” said Kathleen Dow, Head Start Director at WCAC.
“Economic mobility starts early, and it starts with healthy, curious, confident kids. Partnerships like this one with REC show what’s possible when local organizations bring their strengths together for Southbridge families,” said Marybeth Campbell, CEO of WCAC.
“REC works with students of all ages to build and maintain school gardens. We see firsthand the many positive impacts of incorporating gardens into schools, particularly for our littlest learners who are eager to explore the world around them. School gardens help foster curiosity and exploration, build excitement around healthy foods, and encourage connection and community. We’re happy to help amplify the good work of Head Start in Southbridge and support their students,” said Grace Sliwoski, Associate Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Council.
ABOUT WORCESTER COMMUNITY ACTION COUNCIL
Worcester Community Action Council (WCAC) helps people move to economic selfsufficiency through programs, partnerships, and advocacy. Serving 46 communities across Central and South-Central Massachusetts, WCAC offers early education and care, energy assistance, financial empowerment, youth development, and career pathways programs. WCAC’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide early education and family services from the prenatal period through kindergarten. Learn more at wcac.net.
ABOUT THE REGIONAL ENVRIONMENTAL COUNCIL
The Regional Environmental Council is a Worcester-based food justice organization working for environmental sustainability and social justice since 1972. Its programs include community and mobile farmers markets, the YouthGROW youth employment and urban agriculture program, and the UGROW community and school gardens network. Learn more at recworcester.org.
For more information, please contact Giselle Rivera-Flores, Chief External Affairs Officer, at 508.762.9800.