Our Nutrition Enrichment Programs
Awarded Top Community Garden by the Columbus Dispatch, The Hardy Center focuses on year-round initiatives for health and education.
Learn more below!
Our Aim
Our aim is to improve the eating patterns of our students and further improve the nutritional health of families in the inner-city of Columbus, Ohio.
The Hardy Center serves a population of 70% single parent, matriarchal households in the Linden area, a low-income neighborhood and food desert in Columbus. Teen motherhood is common, and these young mothers have difficulty accessing and preparing nutritious meals for their families. According to the International Journal for Equity in Health, urban poverty was found to be a functional inhibitor to a healthy diet. A trip to an inner city grocery store the first week of the month when food stamps are made available would reveal very few fresh vegetables in the shopping carts of those young mothers. The dedication to growing and preparing fresh vegetables from one's own garden has greatly decreased. Our program attempts to revive these skills in our neighborhoods.
Initiatives
For years, the Hardy Center has produced fresh, organic fruits and vegetables for the Linden community. We have received several grants to build our community garden and develop our indoor gardening programs for children. Our objective is to teach children to plan, plant, cultivate, harvest, and cook organic foods. Teaching children how to prepare organic vegetables enables these skills to be transferred to their homes, thus benefitting their families and the Linden community.
Next up: Teaching our children how to cook the organic fruits and vegetables grown in our garden. Help us expand our programs by donating to The Hardy Center.
After School Meals
Our after-school program offers more than academic support. Children are treated to daily homemade, warm, and nutritious meals prepared by our dedicated kitchen staff, Ms. Barbara and Ms. Tracy, community members who lovingly refer to the students as "their children."
Summer Meals
In the summer, The Hardy Center is a proud provider for the Ohio Department of Education's "Summer Feed Program." This extension of the school lunch program ensures that we can serve breakfast and lunch meals during the summertime when schools are closed, addressing the vital need for continued access to nutritious meals.
