New Truck and Trailer will take Baton Roots to Next Level

Thanks to YOUR generous donations, the Baton Roots team has purchased a truck and trailer to move the operation forward and further out into the community.

“The Baton Roots truck and trailer are going to make a world of difference in our ability to care for Baton Roots satellite sites around EBR parish,” said SK Groll, Baton Roots Program Coordinator of Operations. “With this set of wheels, we are excited to be more mobile, and continue our mission to decentralize food access and agriculture education.”

The fundraiser for the truck was the focus of our 225 Gives campaign, which is held annually in conjunction with Giving Tuesday. We wanted to put all of our focus on raising funds for the truck and trailer because it was such a necessity for our team.

RELATED: 225 Gives 2021 - Help Us Bring Baton Roots to More Neighborhoods

“We currently maintain 11 gardens within housing authority communities and 3 gardens at local high schools, in addition to our 4-acre farm at BREC’s Howell Park,” Groll noted. “A truck allows us to transport supplies for those gardens, support larger educational and volunteer events, and continue to meet people and plants where they are at.”

Until now, the team had to rely on their own vehicles to transport supplies.

“Managing 15 different garden sites is a big challenge and having the right tool for the right job can be tricky when running all over town,” said Michell Provensal, Baton Roots Senior Program Coordinator. “Our new truck and trailer will allow us to be prepared for any and every task at any and every site!”

Provensal said the new trailer will hold irrigation and harvesting supplies, hand tools, wheelbarrows, materials for trellising, seeds, and items for our education classes as well.

The truck is a used Ford F-150 and was purchased with the assistance of our vehicle broker Chad Shaffer with Paradise Auto. The trailer was purchased from Mike Gerald’s Trailer Depot.

If you would like to help the Baton Roots program continue to grow and thrive, consider becoming a regular donor by giving a small amount every month rather than one big donation once a year. Although the latter is just as helpful, recurring payments do help our team plan more efficiently throughout the year.

 Special thanks to our 225 Gives Donors for helping make this possible!!