PROGRAM PATHWAY

SEED TO SALSA

Seed to Salsa is part of CommuniKeys’ Grow and Gather learning pathway. Students participate in the full process of growing, tending, harvesting, preparing, and sharing food in community.

This work supports communication, purposeful movement, sensory regulation, daily living skills, responsibility, and real-world participation. Rather than treating gardening as a one-time outing, CommuniKeys uses Seed to Salsa as a scaffolded experience where students can build familiarity, contribute meaningfully, and participate with dignity.

GROW AND GATHER

From Seed to Salsa to Everyday Food Participation

Grow & Gather is CommuniKeys’ food access and daily living pathway. Seed to Salsa is the garden-based starting point, where students participate in growing, tending, harvesting, and learning about food in community.

The pathway then moves beyond the garden. Students explore how food becomes a meal, identify foods that work for them, practice selecting ingredients, navigate grocery stores, participate in checkout, and build confidence preparing simple meals and snacks.

The goal is not cooking independence measured against a single standard. The goal is meaningful participation, increased confidence, informed choice, and greater dignity in everyday food routines.

The Grow & Gather Pathway

Grow food → Explore food → Choose food → Shop for food → Prepare food → Remember what works → Repeat at home

Students may participate through communication, decision-making, gathering ingredients, measuring, washing, mixing, preparing a workspace, using adaptive tools, documenting preferences, or completing part of a meal.

Caregivers and communication partners participate alongside students so that successful tools, routines, and supports can be carried into home and community settings.

Food Exploration and Personal Food Journals

Students will be encouraged to develop an individualized food journal that records:

Foods, meals, and snacks they enjoy
Ingredients they would like to shop for
Sensory preferences and access needs
Tools or supports that improved participation
Simple meals they would like to make again
Notes that caregivers can use at home

The journal serves as a memory, communication, and confidence tool. It helps each student build a food routine based on personal preferences, access needs, and successful experiences.

Building the Next Stage

CommuniKeys is developing partnerships with nutrition educators, community food programs, grocery stores, and accessible kitchen environments to strengthen this pathway.

These collaborations can help students build practical food knowledge while exploring preparation methods, adaptive tools, nutrition concepts, sensory accessibility, and meaningful roles in shared kitchen and meal experiences.

OUR APPROACH

Growing Skills Through
Real Participation

Seed to Salsa is a hands-on learning pathway that builds food literacy, sensory regulation, purposeful movement, and community participation. Participants begin by learning in a supported partner garden environment and then translate those skills to the CK Hub gardens, where they take on ongoing roles and responsibilities.

This progression supports long-term engagement, independence, and meaningful participation in community-based work. The program emphasizes routine, ownership, and real-world contribution rather than one-time activities.

PROGRAM PROGRESSION

Learn in Community Garden

Participants build foundational skills in planting, soil preparation, and seasonal routines within a structured partner garden.

Build Routine and Ownership
Participants take on consistent responsibilities and develop confidence through repeated participation.

Harvest and Share
Produce supports food learning, preparation, and shared community experiences.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Community Learning Site
Loveland Youth Gardeners Partnership

Participants begin Seed to Salsa by learning alongside experienced educators in a fully functioning community garden. This setting provides structured exposure to planting, composting, soil preparation, and seasonal rhythms.

The partner garden allows participants to build confidence while developing practical skills in a supportive environment before transitioning to CK Hub gardens.

Seed starting and planting techniques
Soil preparation and garden bed setup
Composting and sustainability practices
Sensory regulation through outdoor work
Purposeful movement and task completion
Social participation in shared space

CK Hub Garden Translation Site

Skills learned in the community partner garden are translated to CK Hub gardens, where participants help build and maintain their own growing spaces. This phase emphasizes ownership, routine, and long-term participation.

Participants engage in ongoing garden stewardship, returning weekly to maintain beds, track growth, and develop responsibility for shared spaces.

Direct seeding and transplanting
Garden bed planning and maintenance
Watering routines and seasonal care
Harvest tracking and responsibility
Participant-led decision making
Long-term stewardship

Why Seed to Salsa Matters

Seed to Salsa builds independence and participation through real responsibilities. Participants engage in meaningful work that supports routine, confidence, and community connection.

This program creates long-term opportunities for skill development while contributing to shared community resources.

Builds independence and daily living skills
Supports sensory regulation through purposeful work
Encourages routine and responsibility
Expands community participation
Develops food literacy and confidence
Creates long-term meaningful roles

Program Growth

Seed to Salsa is designed as a scalable participation pathway. CK Hub gardens serve as a permanent learning environment where participants return weekly, deepen skills, and expand into food preparation and community sharing.

Future phases include Market to Kitchen, Kitchen Confidence, and Community Table experiences.

Support Seed to Salsa

Support for Seed to Salsa helps build accessible garden infrastructure and sustain long-term participant engagement. Donations directly support garden materials, seeds, tools, and ongoing facilitation.

Raised garden beds and materials
Soil, seeds, and irrigation
Garden tools and accessibility supports
Ongoing program facilitation
Long-term garden maintenance

2 Garden Sites

Community partner + CK Hub

Weekly Participation

Ongoing seasonal engagement

Hands-On Learning

Planting, maintenance, harvest

Long-Term Stewardship

Participant-led garden care

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