For the past three years, the family behind Flores Concepts and all of the Si Charro restaurants have been donating a portion of the proceeds from Charro Vida’s food sales to support the UA Community and School Garden Program.

Now, in honor of Earth Day, Si Charro is “doubling the Round-Up” at all participating Flores Concepts locations on Thursday, April 22.

Aside from the additional funding Si Charro has offered to the programs, fresh produce from the gardens at Ricardo Manzo Elementary School and JB Wright Elementary School has been featured in certain dishes at Charro Vida.

When Richard Manzo Elementary School was vandalized in 2019, the Charro team crafted a spicy salsa using peppers from the school’s garden and donated 100-percent of sales to help them with repairs.

The restaurant group has recently upped the ante, so to speak.

Flores Concepts recently signed up the entire restaurant group up with Round it Up America — a platform that encourages visitors at restaurants to round up their checks and donate their change to the many charitable organizations and programs that need support.

At first, the additional funds will be going towards the UA School Gardes program as it prepares for the new school year. The program began in 2006 when TUSD instructor Moses Thompson helped found the nationally recognized Manzo Ecology Program as part of his school counseling program — utilizing the therapeutic nature of gardening to help meet the social and emotional needs of his students.

The program was eventually adopted by the University of Arizona in 2009 and has since multiplied into 70 school gardens involving 4,000 TUSD kids, with 100 teachers trained annually in garden-based teaching.

For more information on Flores Concepts and the Si Charro restaurant group, visit sicharro.com.