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Read the press release here.

Fried Chicken Fundraiser to Raise Green for Kids' Veggie Farm

By Nikhita Venugopal | February 11, 2014 12:08pm
 Carroll Gardens restaurant Seersucker is hosting a fried chicken fundraiser to raise money to expand a vegetable garden at P.S. 58.
P.S. 58's Vegetable Garden
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CARROLL GARDENS — A neighborhood Southern-cooking restaurant is serving a fried chicken feast — and it’s for a healthy cause.

Seersucker, at 329 Smith St., will host its third annual fried chicken fundraiser so that the kids at P.S. 58 The Carroll School can have a larger veggie patch.

The fundraiser, which takes place Feb. 11 from 6 to 10:30 p.m., will feature a $50 three-course meal with chicken and vegetarian options, the restaurant said.

Funds raised, including $2,500 donated by the restaurant, will help P.S. 58’s vegetable garden expand so more students can plant and grow vegetables this year.

The expansion will involve adding more raised beds to the garden and purchasing materials such as gloves, wheelbarrows and trowels, teacher Diana Marsh said.

A larger garden would also mean more fresh produce, which is currently served in the school’s cafeteria twice a year during “Harvest Lunches,” Marsh said.

At the garden, students from the Carroll Gardens elementary school learn about growing plants and the wildlife that lives in the little ecosystem.

The kids also study healthy eating and nutrition through the garden and during “field trips” to Seersucker. The restaurant planned to teach them recipes for salads and pickles as a way to show them the practical uses for the vegetables, according to Seersucker co-owner Kerry Diamond.

“The main reason we do this is to help children understand where food comes from. There's too much of a separation between the farmer and the plate these days,” said Diamond, who started Seersucker as well as Smith Canteen with chef Rob Newton.

“We want to bridge that gap. A school garden might seem like a small thing, but we believe it can have a positive, lifelong impact on the children's health and well-being.”

Seersucker will be taking walk-ins for the fried chicken fundraiser Feb. 11. More information here.