SAN LUIS VALLEY -- Every month, a local non-profit is chosen to be the recipient of the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative (NGBC) Roundup, and during that month customers can “round up” the total of their purchase to the next dollar amount, with the excess change going to the non-profit. In April, the Valley Educational Gardens Initiative (VEGI) will be featured.

VEGI is a garden education program of La Puente Home that empowers youth and adults across the San Luis Valley to experience the joy of growing and eating nutritious food from seed to harvest. VEGI operates community gardens at Rocky Mountain SER where community members are invited to share the work and share the harvest.  Thousands of pounds of harvested food is donated to the Alamosa Food Bank and the Shelter. VEGI also manages a garden on the Alamosa Elementary School campus, offering students and community members a hands-on environment for gardening and nutrition lessons, bringing subjects of science, literacy, and social studies to life.

“VEGI is hosting their annual season Kick-off on May 22nd. It will look a bit different this year,” says Marlena Antonucci, VEGI Director. “Event participants will receive a pre-portioned meal box with local food and will prepare it together via Zoom. This experience will be a cross between meal prep services, a morning show cooking segments, and storytelling. Be ready for some fun guest appearances!” To register for the event go to LaPuenteHome.org/events/vegikickoff.

“We are grateful for the support of our community, especially when we are kicking off our garden season,” says Antonucci. “I recommend buying a book that considers our interconnectedness with the land, like Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, in honor of Earth Day on April 22. 

Narrow Gauge Book Co-Op, located at 602 Main Street in Alamosa, will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information on volunteering or taking part in the owner and member opportunities, stop by the store, go on the Facebook page, email [email protected] or call 719-589-3464.