Raising Money for Our School Garden

At our high school, we have 22 raised garden beds that grow food for our cafeterias. While we were able to start this with grant money, we still need to raise funds every year to keep the gardens growing. This year, we held our first annual community event to help raise money for the gardens. Over 200 people came to the event. Many of the Program Advisors of our schools helped organize the event while we assisted in participating and helping at the event. It was a night filled with fun filled booths, contests, and raffles! Some of the booths were student led organizations just like our group, and others were local businesses that wanted to get their names out there.

One of the contests was a cooking competition featuring 6 different teams who presented their plates to 7 local “celebrity” judges. The cooked items had to include our “harvest of the month vegetable”, Brussel Sprouts. Our high school FUTP 60 team came up with a pretty unique recipe. We made a sweet potato and Brussel Sprout burger. We got a thumbs up from a local chef as well (recipe below).

The gym was filled with vendors and activity stations. A few of the activities included a half-court shot where you could win free subs and shooting free throws with our school’s shooting machine. We also had a FUTP 60 relay obstacle course, which the kids were all over. The kids were so competitive which made it so fun!

There was a bunch to offer when it came to raffles. There was so many local businesses that gave the people a good chance to win some raffles. The successful event raised over $2,500 for our Kewaskum School District Garden Program.

Andrew & Courtney
Summit Ambassadors
Wisconsin
9^th Grade

Brussels Sprout and Sweet Potato Burger Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 medium-small cloves garlic, grated or crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup cheese (we used Parmesan)
• Some oil or butter for the pan
• Egg on top for serving

Instructions:

1. While you’re gathering the rest of your ingredients, prepare the sweet potato. It is best if the potato is somewhat cooled off before you make the patty. Scrub the potato and wrap it in damp paper towels. Microwave the potato for 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cut all the little heels off the sprouts. Shred the sprouts in a food processor.
3. Combine the shredded sprouts, the garlic, salt, thyme, cayenne, and cumin. Mix well.
4. Heat a little bit of oil or butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook the shredded spouts for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
5. Peel the cooled potato and smash it in the bottom of a bowl. Add the par-cooked sprouts over it. Add in the cheese and mix well.
6. Form patties that are about 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.
7. Heat a little more oil or butter in the pan, over medium heat this time.
8. Cook the patties for three minutes on one side, and then flip and cook for three more minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with a little more salt and cayenne, and serve. They taste wonderful with a sunny-side up egg served on top!