News

Victory Gardens in San Perlita will empower youth to learn about nutrition

Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc., in conjunction with The University of Texas-Pan American and Monsanto Fund, would like to announce their partnership to award San Perlita I.S.D. with $4,740.87 to build their own Victory Gardens, school nutrition gardens, for students of all grade levels.

Pictured from left to right: Vice President of VTCI Board of Directors J.T. Mayo Jr., San Perlita Agriculture High School Teacher Jose Munoz Jr., High School Principal Ramiro Moreno, VTCI CEO and General Manager Dave Osborn, English Middle School Teacher Denise Martinez, Science Middle School Teacher Rosanna Gomez, and ICNA Project Director Annie Studebaker.



"VTCI is delighted to support the South Texas ICNA Project," said VTCI CEO and General Manager Dave Osborn. “Projects like these strengthen our communities and reinforce our children’s appreciation for nature and agriculture. The impact of this program will last a lifetime.”

San Perlita I.S.D. is the most recent school participant of the South Texas Initiative for Child Nutrition through Agriculture Project. ICNA is funded by the Monsanto Fund through UTPA. The goal of the project is to improve the nutritional well-being of school-age children in South Texas.

"We are very excited about our partnership withUTPA and VTCI to improve the nutritional well-being of students," stated Executive Director for Monsanto Fund Deborah Patterson. "In our school garden projects across the country we’ve seen the positive change in fruit and vegetable consumption when the children participate in growing their own food."

The Victory Gardens will provide young ones with practical hands-on experience. It will set the foundation to teach valuable lessons about nutrition beyond the ordinary classroom experience because students will be able to plant, maintain, nurture, and harvest their gardens.

For more information about South Texas Initiative for Child Nutrition through Agriculture, please contact ICNA Project Director Annie Studebaker at 956.330.4971 or to learn more about the Monsanto Fund, visit www.monsantofund.org/asp/welcome.asp. For more information about VTCI, you may visit www.vtci.net or call 1.800.446.2031.

About VTCI

For almost 60 years, VTCI has provided a full range of telecommunication services, which include local and long distance telephone service, high speed internet and most recently, television entertainment, to 17 rural communities in South Texas. VTCI exchanges cover well over 7,300 square miles and serve 19 counties in South Texas. The Cooperative currently employs over 100 employees and serves more than 5,000 members. VTCI’s corporate headquarters are located in Raymondville. Subsidiary companies include VTX Communications, headquartered in Harlingen, and VTX Telecom located in Raymondville.



Contact: Lydia E. Cruz
Email: lcruz@vtci.net
Web: www.vtci.net
Mobile: 956.642.6732
Phone: 956.642.1110
Fax: 956.642.1051
Address: 480 S. 6th Street
Raymondville, TX 78580