Kimberly Miterko, a Special Education Teacher for NEISD’s North East Transition Services (NETS) Program for high school services takes us on a tour of the G3 Program, or Garden, Grocery and Gourmet Program, that was funded with a NEEF Grant in 2021. With the funds, Kimberly purchased a variety of equipment: food preparation appliances and a dishwasher, as well as cash registers, shopping baskets, and items to fill a mock grocery store.
The students are preparing for real-life situations, readying them to be independent and gain job skills. They learn how to budget for shopping, shop and pay for items in a safe, fun environment. After they master those skills, they take a class trip to real grocery stores and implement what they learn. The skills they train on could help them work in a grocery store or a restaurant once they graduate.
Students are enthusiastic about the experience. Seth Drain said, “I learned how to shop by myself in class. Being able to shop by myself, it makes me feel happy.”
Jacob Cantrel also valued the mock shopping exercise, “This program is helping me a lot to be independent. It makes me feel happy when I go out in the community.”
NEISD has a variety of programs for students, NETS is one of them that benefitted from a NEEF Grant.