An enthusiastic crowd of close to 50 rallied around the Good Food movement on Sunday at a benefit for Montgomery Victory Gardens, a non-profit organization committed to creating a more sustainable local food shed in Montgomery County.

On an autumn afternoon at Ashton's Blueberry Gardens farm, Montgomery Victory Gardens founder and director Gordon Clark spoke optimistically to a barefoot audience about reaching the long-fought-for point at which vegetable gardens will grow on public school grounds.

Montgomery Victory Gardens has embarked upon various outreach projects in its first year of existence. Among them: sending out food news updates to a list of almost 500 subscribers; establishing a Congregational Community Garden Network among Christian, Jewish and Muslim houses of worship; and addressing local land use issues.

But the mission that has garnered the most attention is the organization's efforts to lift what Clark called a de facto ban on vegetable gardens in Montgomery County public schools. Clark has testified to members of the Montgomery County Council on the subject, and this summer submitted a related letter to Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendant Jerry Weast.

For Clark, establishing vegetable gardens on public school grounds is an essential step in improving our local food shed.

Clark promotes vegetable gardens as outdoor laboratories in which anything can be taught, from academic lessons to good eating habits and environmental stewardship. And in an age in which environmental threats are up and children's health is down, these lessons are all the more important to learn, Clark urged.

"Growing one's own food is extremely powerful," said Clark.

Rachel Clement teaches science at the Lab School of Washington in Washington, D.C., and attended the benefit as an advocate for food gardens. The D.C. resident and former farmer this fall founded a gardening club, of which five or six students are members. 

"I wanted to start a garden with the kids because I think it's a perfect way to teach all sorts of subjects," Clement said.

From science lessons on biodiversity to math lessons on fractions, Clement believes that a garden can serve as the perfect classroom. Her own students have taken social studies outside, unearthing artifacts from their garden while learning about former uses for land in the area.

The Lab School serves students with moderate to severe learning disabilities, a group for which Clement believes gardening can be particularly beneficial. Indeed, Clement's students have exceled in this new outdoor space, excited to expend energy with their hands in the dirt, she said.

Pat Humphries and Sandy O of folk duo emma's revolution performed an acoustic set at the benefit that was well-suited to the event's mood and mission of social change. Said Sandy O on Montgomery Victory Gardens' goals, "I'm optimistic that this campaign is going to get more kids dirty in the best way."