Rockmart Middle School and Polk School District officials held a ribbon-cutting for their new greenhouse, built through a donation from Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center provided by the Atrium Health Floyd-Polk Foundation.

The foundation donated a total of $125,000 for site work and the new greenhouse, which sits behind the middle school. Some vegetables started in the greenhouse have already been moved to nearby raised beds.

“Teaching students lifelong skills is one of our goals," said Katie Thomas, Polk School District superintendent, during Friday's event. “You've allowed us to make that happen even at an earlier age," she said to foundation members who attended the event.

“I just wanted to say thank you. We have started out with a few vegetable projects and there are already some things planted in our raised beds," said Jordan Atkins, the agricultural teacher at the middle school. “My whole goal is to help kids see where their food comes from. We showed them how to start from seeds right here in this greenhouse."

Atkins said the school also hopes that students in the agriculture class might be able to eventually grow vegetables that can help feed other students who might need more nutrition at home.

Atrium Health Floyd-Polk Foundation was established in 2021 as a result of the strategic combination of Floyd and Atrium Health. The Foundation currently has assets valued at more than $200 million. Annual investment earnings on the assets are used to support Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center and Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center, which in turn, awards grants to area agencies to address disparities in care and social determinants of health in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. 

In the affiliation between Floyd and Atrium Health, the parties along with the Hospital Authority of Floyd County and Cedartown-Polk County Hospital Authority wanted to create a lasting way to positively affect the health of the citizens in our communities to avoid serious health issues at younger ages.  

Previous funds provided by the foundation and awarded through Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center and Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center include:

• $1.3 million to support 33 community agencies in northwest Georgia
• $2 million for new construction and program improvements at the Rome-Floyd YMCA
• $2 million to the new Health Sciences Building at Berry College