Our Children’s Rainbow Garden, a unique, local community garden project located within the Dauphin County Community Garden, on Elmerton Avenue and State Farm Road, in Harrisburg, is expanding this year by increasing class offerings and building a children’s discovery garden and medicinal herb garden. Project members will host an Introduction to Our Children’s Rainbow Garden at 10 a.m. and an Introduction to Gardening class at 11a.m., April 23.

The garden project is a hands-on educational environment for children and their parents, organized by area residents who are inspired to teach the health benefits of eating fresh, colorful, locally grown fruits and vegetables daily. Volunteer teachers also explain the benefits of local community gardening as an inexpensive and accessible source of healthy foods.

Participating volunteers receive produce from the garden. In 2010, their first season, they grew enough produce to satisfy volunteers and donate the remaining 251 pounds to Channels Food Rescue, a nonprofit organization that distributes food and children’s meals throughout Central Pennsylvania.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit ChildrensRainbowGarden.blogspot.com.