Covenant Woods is proud to announce a new collaboration with the Sustainable Urban Agriculture program at VSU and Virginia Cooperative. Together, the partnership will help grow Covenant Woods’ already thriving Farm-to-Table program to new heights. Professional soil testing to determine the best fruits and vegetables to plant has already taken place, with an exciting demonstration coming to the Covenant Woods campus in the near future.
Students and professionals from the VSU program will be Covenant Woods throughout the summer months, assisting with tending the garden while gaining valuable experience towards their degrees. Specialized equipment, not normally available to non-professional farmers, was brought in to build planting mounds in the Farm-to-Table garden, including installation of drip lines and tarps for the mounds.
The partnership will allow Covenant Woods to expand its offerings from its Farm-to-Table Program by offering new fruits and vegetables in both greater quantity and higher quality. Covenant Woods Director of Dining, Michael Scheff, had this to say: “It’s an amazing opportunity for Covenant Woods to partner with VSU so we can serve the freshest possible produce to our residents. This is a true Farm-to-Table program, our 8,000 sq. ft. farm is located 500 yards from our tables, is managed by a professional Master Gardner, and products are harvested daily by our staff.”
Covenant Woods is a continuing care retirement community located in Mechanicsville, Virginia. The Life Plan community has 188 apartments, 43 cottages as well as assisted living and skilled nursing care centers.