The Grow This Throwdown

Grow This seeds are provided free to participants by the WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP). To receive seeds, participants must reside in the state of West Virginia and fill out an online demographic survey. Sign-ups are held each January and close when supplies are exhausted. Grow This seeds may not be resold, or distributed in exchange for goods, services, membership sign-ups, votes or any other incentive. 

County “Grow This” groups  

County groups are created by Grow This participants to communicate with other growers in their communities. These groups are not endorsed or managed by FNP, and FNP is not responsible for the content of these groups. 

The Grow This Throwdown 

The Grow This Throwdown is a county-versus-county competition. Throughout the year, FNP announces a series of challenges on its official social media channels, in the Grow This email newsletter and on the Grow This website. County teams earn Throwdown points by completing these challenges. FNP reserves sole authority to grant points based on challenge guidelines.  

Businesses that grow produce for commercial sale may not submit those products for consideration in Throwdown challenges. If commercial agriculture activities are reported as part of a challenge, they will not be counted toward point totals. 

First prize winners of the Grow This Throwdown are ineligible to win a first-, second- or third-place prize in the following year’s Throwdown competition. Second- and third-place winners are still eligible to win.  

The Grow This Throwdown Awards 

First-, second- and third-place winners will be determined by counties’ point totals at the end of the competition.   

Grants are to be used to improve the health of the community by achieving one or more of the following goals: increasing access to healthy foods, encouraging community members to grow their own food, encouraging physical activity or preserving local food traditions. Grant funding cannot be used to improve private property or benefit for-profit businesses. 

Winning counties will form a Grow This Throwdown grant committee for the purpose of considering, deciding on and implementing grant activities. The committee must be comprised of at least six members. Members should be recruited from those who were actively involved in the Grow This Throwdown competition. No committee members may be related. No more than two members can work for the same business or organization. Member names and contact information must be submitted to FNP within 30 days of being named a Throwdown winner. 

A county Grow This Throwdown grant committee will hold at least one publicly advertised meeting to hear ideas from the community on grant projects. This meeting must be widely advertised (on public websites, social media, email newsletters, local print, radio or television, etc.). Committees must also notify FNP of the meeting at least 14 days prior to the meeting date. Members of the public should also be able to submit ideas for grant projects in writing. Meetings should be recorded, either through written minutes or audio or video recording. Grant projects must be agreed upon by a majority of committee members in a publicly advertised meeting, either at the initial idea meeting or at a subsequent meeting. 

Committees must also agree upon a fiscal agent within the county to accept Grow This funding. Agents can be government agencies, nonprofit organizations or healthcare facilities.  

Before grant disbursement can begin, committees will submit a detailed description of desired grant activities, an itemized budget and information about their fiscal agent to FNP for approval. Leftover funds not accounted for in the budget will not be dispersed. Throwdown grant funding can be combined with other outside grants, but this should be noted in your project budget.  

FNP reserves the right to reject proposed grant activities if they do not align with the stated goals of the program or if the project is not feasible given the scope and the budget of this grant. 

Grow This Throwdown winners must share regular updates on grant activities with the WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program.  

Failure to comply with any of these guidelines could result in withdrawal of grant funding.