Keefe Tech Breaks Ground on Vegetable Garden

, with financial help from the , is starting a school vegetable garden.

Keefe Tech Superintendent James Lynch welcomed members of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation last month to a groundbreaking ceremony for a school vegetable garden made possible by their generous grant.

Following a luncheon at the Keefe Tech student-run restaurant, , Lynch, Principal Jonathan Evans, Vocational Coordinator John Brochu, and Landscape and Design instructor Doug Paul escorted representatives from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation to the newly-installed vegetable garden on the school campus for the groundbreaking.

Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation Trustee Susan Acton, Foundation Chairman Robert Lamprey, Framingham Co-operative Bank President and CEO and Foundation Trustee Mark Haranas, Framingham Co-operative Bank Senior Vice President and Foundation Trustee Steven Sousa, and Framingham Co-operative Bank Assistant Vice President and Foundation Administrative Director Rachel Stewart were present at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“On behalf of the District and Keefe Regional Technical School, I would like to express our gratitude for the generous grant we received from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation that made this vegetable garden possible. This is an outstanding collaboration between the business and education communities that will last long-term and replenish itself year after year,” said Lynch in a press release.

The vegetable garden, located in an outdoor courtyard of the school building, was installed by Keefe Tech Landscape and Design students, with raised garden beds constructed by Carpentry students. The garden’s bounty will be utilized by Culinary Arts students in meals served in The East Side Room and also enjoyed by Keefe Tech students in the

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Lynch presented Stewart with a plaque to
commemorate the Foundation’s generosity to Keefe Tech.

“I am so impressed with how this project has turned out. To see this space utilized in such a wonderful way and to know that it will perpetuate year after year just reaffirms that the grant was money well spent,” Stewart said in a release.

“What’s great about this project is that we’ve not only brought our business together with a nonprofit organization, but the different career technical programs at the school have combined their talents as well. It’s amazing how an educational institution like Keefe Tech brings all of these aspects together in a tangible way and allows students to see how collaboration works in the real world,” said Steven Sousa, Framingham Co-operative Bank Senior Vice President and Foundation Trustee.

In addition to the grant for the school vegetable garden, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation previously provided a grant to Keefe Tech for the purchase of the point of sale system used by Culinary Arts students in The East Side Room, and continuously supports the school and its students through annual scholarship awards.

Keefe Regional Technical School is a four-year high school in Framingham serving students from Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton and Natick.