Easton Schools' Great Pumpkin Challenge Ready for 2013 Growing Season

Submitted to Easton Patch:

In 2012, the Easton Public Schools took part in a challenge to grow something big, as big as their imagination and love could make it. Creator Todd Sandstrum, never imagined what would come next for the Pumpkin Challenge grant program, sponsored by Coast of Maine Organics.

As he and Genevieve Pollock watched the schools’ pumpkins grow they saw how it was changing families and the possibility for the challenge to grow as well. The two created South Shore Great Pumpkin Challenge with the goal to get kids in the dirt and build community moral at the same time.

Over the winter, Pollock and Sandstrum didn’t stop working. Even though the ground was covered with snow higher than most pumpkins, they had a goal. Written up in Today’s Garden Center magazine as an innovative way to reach out to the community, this was just the start for SSGPC.

Soon to follow, the team of two were endorsed by SEMAP (South Eastern Mass Agricultural Partnership), Farm To School, GreenSchools, The BigPumpkin.com, Pumpkin Commonwealth, and Edible South Shore Magazine to name a few from the long list of local, regional and national supporters. Keeping focused on their mission, the two juggled work, Todd’s two kids and their array of animals, ranging from chickens to horses, cats, rabbits and a dog and still found time to run tables at Spring trade shows to spread the word.

As seedlings sprout for schools to grow this season, Sandstrum and Pollock are also growing 10 plants in their home patch and planning the Sept. 28, 2013 weigh off. Recently, they found out how many eyes are watching this creative challenge grow.

Like most, Sandstrum receives email on his phone to keep up with the schools emailing him with questions, but he wasn’t ready for one specific email that came through.

Zodiac Media, the third largest media company in the world, emailed SSGPC to talk about extreme growing. A phone interview with the company’s casting director revealed that Zodiac has a show in the works about people growing big vegetables, from tomatoes, watermelons, cabbage and onions, to pumpkins.

The casting director told Sandstrum that he was not like the other growers she’d talked with. Sandstrum responded with ‘Yeah, my drive is to educate the kids not to get the biggest pumpkin.’ And this is what he thinks caught the director’s eye. I

n the next few weeks, the team will know more about the show they hope to be a part of. The two welcome the cameras but promise the kids to continue to support each school through the growing season and never lose sight of the mission of growing giant pumpkins to grow kids’ minds.

The South Shore Great Pumpkin Challenge this year is open to any educational facility on the South Shore. A. Growing pumpkins on school grounds for a school grant is just one of three ways you can participate in this year’s challenge. Others can grow an over sized pumpkin for a charity, raising funds by asking family, friends and local companies to pledge to the pumpkin. The money raised will go to the charity of the grower’s choice. Pollock and Sandstrum don’t want to leave out the pros, they can bring their pumpkins to the scales and pay a scale fee that is split with the winner and SSGPC.

If you have an interest in growing you can email them at SSGreatPumpkinChallenge@gmail.com or to follow the schools’ pumpkins as they grow just look them up on Facebook, South Shore Great Pumpkin Challenge.