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CCS Employee Earns Local Food Champion Award
May 26, 2021 -- Congratulations, Christine Weatherholtz, for receiving the Local Food Champion Award from the Columbus and Franklin County Local Food Board and Franklin County local food council. Ms. Weatherholtz is the Farm to School/Nutrition Educator at Columbus City Schools.
Ms. Weatherholtz has implemented school gardens and the school gardening curriculum of STEM-based experiential learning within Columbus City Schools. She has successfully assisted in creating indoor and outdoor growing areas at over 60 schools to date, impacting tens of thousands of students.
“Chris has a tremendous amount of energy and passion for our students and creating this experiential learning platform around food and nutrition,” said Joseph Brown, Director, Office of Food Service, Columbus City Schools. “Her work around school gardens connects hundreds of educators and thousands of students every year. We are proud to have her on our team.”
Christine Weatherholtz engages her fellow educators in multiple ways throughout the school year. She is a willing hands-on operator in the school garden construction, often delivering the soil, seeds, fertilizer, and tools herself. She then will teach the teachers techniques that she developed herself in the classroom.
“I was honored and shocked that I received this award,” said Weatherholtz. “I love what I do. I know it’s my job, but it’s hard to describe the joy I feel when teaching students how to grow their food. When the light goes off, and students truly understand that, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Weatherholtz’s co-workers said that it is not uncommon for her to drive to multiple CCS school buildings over a weekend to cover raised beds, so they are shielded from inclement weather such as frost in the springtime.
The local food champion award recognizes and celebrates grassroots, community efforts that support the Columbus and Franklin County local food action plan’s work to create a food system that benefits all people.