Raised 'em Myself

US School Garden - Raised 'em Myself

Issued by the U.S. School Garden Army Bureau of Education, Department of Interior

Horatio Alger type school boy showing the vegetables grown in his school garden. Rare.

WWI

c. 1918

The United States School Garden Army (USSGA) was created in 1917 as a way to encourage gardening among school children. By encouraging children to garden, the U.S. government hoped that a food crisis might be averted, and that America's food system might become more locally-oriented and sustainable. The USSGA was funded by the War Deparment; food was, and still is, an issue of national security. By Armistice Day, several million children had answered the nation's call to service, enlisting as "Soldiers of the Soil."