Friends of Great Kids Farm, Inc. is a nonprofit organization created to support and promote Baltimore City Schools’ Great Kids Farm. The Farm, occupying 33-acres of abundant fields and forest just west of the city, engages students with good food from farm to fork and prepares them to lead sustainability efforts in their communities.
“I’m really excited to have been named Vice President of Friends of Great Kids Farm,” said Knab, who joined the Board of Directors of Friends in 2017. “The Farm provides Baltimore City Public School students with so many opportunities that they may not otherwise have access to. I am proud to support such a wonderful program that makes a difference in the lives of these children and their families.”
According to Knab, a summa cum laude graduate of both the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and University of Maryland, College Park, the Farm is fully-functioning, with 14 livings systems, including vegetable gardens, composting worms, fruit trees, honeybees, mushrooms and livestock.
Friends raises awareness of the Farm’s many contributions to Baltimore City students and raises funds to support its activities. The Farm’s programs help kids to:
- Eat well and enjoy nutritious foods
- Learn rigorous academic content
- Experience the joy of learning and the peace of nature
- Develop career skills to help them lead healthy, successful lives
- Connect with and preserve their natural environment
Since its inception in 2011, Friends has raised over $950,000 for the Farm. These funds have resulted in educational materials, a work truck, student intern stipends, student transportation to the Farm, a fence to protect crops—and more.
During the 2016-17 school year, 2,800 students visited the Farm, with thousands more benefiting from the distribution of produce, curriculum, and living educational materials to teachers, allowing them to replicate Farm experiences in their classrooms.
