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Garden Joy provides fresh produce for MUSD students
garden joy
The Manteca Unified School District’s Nutrition Education team recently collected fresh and locally grown produce from Garden Joy, a community garden in Ripon.

The Manteca Unified School District’s Nutrition Education team has set some future goals.

Included is sourcing 20 percent of the produce locally by the 2026-2027 school year.

“This not only supports our students’ health but also aligns with our mission of fostering success in and out of the classroom,” said the Nutrition Education team via social media.

The first donation towards that goal was from Garden Joy.

Several weeks ago, the Ripon community garden donated 462 pounds of fresh produce – tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplants, and watermelon – to MUSD.

“These nutritious and delicious vegetables were distributed to our high schools and elementary schools, bringing fresh, locally sourced goodness straight to our students’ plates,” according to the MUSD Nutrition post on Aug. 21.

Garden Joy was built to cultivate wellness and community through a hands-on garden program for both children and adults. MUSD was especially thankful for the recent contribution.

Garden Joy will also be donating recipe kits to students and families in the MUSD after-school program on a rotating basis throughout the year.

At East Union High, the Nutrition Education team created a special recipe featuring squash and eggplants to show that these vegetables can be “tasty and versatile.”