Home for New Beginnings has expanded on its kids’ Garden to Table cooking classes with the addition of a children’s garden and gardening class.
Home for New Beginnings is a local nonprofit that aims to build homes for displaced children in the Verde Valley. The organization received a grant in 2020 from United Way to start a social enterprise selling pies, Divine Pies, which provides funds for their programs.
Pam Barton, the organization’s executive director, noticed that when people received food from food sharing programs, they often did not know how to cook it, which prompted the development of the garden to table program.
“Our goal is to get kids involved in teaching them very important life skills, how to cook, how to grow and how to be self-sufficient,” Barton said.
The children’s cooking class, which started in October 2022 in partnership with the Camp Verde Community Library, grew out of that endeavor. The classes teach children the fundamentals of gardening, harvesting, cooking, food safety and potentially running a kitchen. Classes are organized in 3-week sessions with two different age groups. Since the classes started, over 400 children have participated in them.
The group also received a property donation from Cindy Hallet to use for their children’s garden in April 2023, allowing them to extend the cooking program into the garden program. The organization’s goal is to not only teach kids where their food comes from, but also the process of how it is grown.
An introductory garden class took place in January, during which the kids learned how to plant garlic. This spring, the classes will involve the children going out and being active in the garden.
“It takes a lot to put a garden together,” Barton said.
Home for New Beginnings has also received a donation of several tons of wood chips for the garden, which will be spread by Arizona Cement. Red Rock Fence donated a fence for the property and the Salt River Project paid for a water system that will be installed.
“The ultimate goal of all of this isn’t to just cook and have fun,” Barton said. “It’s actually a bigger need, and that’s to provide homes for kids. That’s a huge need.”
Home for New Beginnings aims to provide homes for all children in the Verde Valley. They are working on creating a group home modeled on Sunshine Acres in Mesa, in which children are paired with house parents in each home to provide a loving family environment.
Barton was a court-appointed special advocate for many years and recognized the need for homes in the area.
“I saw that our system is very failed in helping our children,” Barton said. “We need to provide good, safe homes for kids.”
Home for New Beginnings will be hosting a benefit on June 8 called Nailed It. This event will involve sponsors creating a portable miniature golf hole that can be transported by truck or trailer. There will be a competition among the builders of the holes and prizes for the winners. Design sketches are due by March 31. For more information, visit home4newbeginnings.com.
There will be a garden class on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m. Online registration is required.
