Frequently Asked Questions
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My school wants a Kitchen Garden Program. How can we become a Kitchen Garden School?
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My school does not have a kitchen but we would like to work towards a Kitchen Garden Program.
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What needs to go in a kitchen? Can you send me plans?
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I want to do this at my school, but where do I start?
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Can someone from the Kitchen Garden Foundation come out to my school and speak?
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Can Stephanie Alexander come to my school and speak?
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Can a Foundation Kitchen Garden Project Officer visit our school to advise us?
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How is the Program structured?
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How are the roles of Kitchen and Garden Specialists funded?
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What are the overall costs to the school?
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Will the Foundation only support government schools?
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Will the Foundation only support primary schools?
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What? No more chips?
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We are a kindergarten – can we start a Kitchen Garden Program?
Q: My school wants a Kitchen Garden Program. How can we become a Kitchen Garden School?
Q: My school does not have a kitchen but we would like to work towards a Kitchen Garden Program.
Q: What needs to go in a kitchen? Can you send me plans?
Q: I want to do this at my school, but where do I start?
Q: Can someone from the Kitchen Garden Foundation come out to my school and speak?
Q: Can Stephanie Alexander come to my school and speak?
Q: Can a Foundation Kitchen Garden Project Officer visit our school to advise us?
Q: How is the Program structured?
Q: How are the roles of Kitchen and Garden Specialists funded?
Q: What are the overall costs to the school?
Q: Will the Foundation only support government schools?
Q: Will the Foundation only support primary schools?
Q: What? No more chips?
Q: We are a kindergarten – can we start a Kitchen Garden Program?
A:
Currently participation in the Program is limited by funding, hence schools must apply to become participants. Government funding is available in a series of ‘rounds’, with schools applying through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation. All government schools are advised when each funding round opens, along with details of the application process. Applying schools are usually asked to submit detailed plans of their proposed kitchens and gardens. For more information see Grants.
Tours of the Collingwood College Program are run regularly by the Foundation office – see Events & Tours. You may also wish to visit your nearest Program school – see Participating schools.
You can stay in touch with the Foundation by subscribing to our Newsletter for updates.
Tours of the Collingwood College Program are run regularly by the Foundation office – see Events & Tours. You may also wish to visit your nearest Program school – see Participating schools.
You can stay in touch with the Foundation by subscribing to our Newsletter for updates.
A:
Since the Program values preparing and sharing as much as growing and harvesting, a school must plan to have a kitchen if it is to be part of the Program. Each school creates a kitchen in its own way. Some have converted existing spaces within the school, others have brought in and adapted portable spaces. Some schools share a kitchen space with a neighbouring school.
An ‘outdoor’ kitchen (such as a wood-fired oven or bbq) is insufficient for Program participation, since children must be cooking every week of the school year, rain or shine.
An ‘outdoor’ kitchen (such as a wood-fired oven or bbq) is insufficient for Program participation, since children must be cooking every week of the school year, rain or shine.
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Each school develops its own plans for a kitchen according to the space it is creating or adapting. There are some features of a kitchen that are not negotiable for participant schools. For example, there must be 4–6 work stations depending on class size, each equipped with a stove, a sink, benches and drawers. There must also be space for communal eating enabling children, staff and volunteers to sit around tables and share a meal together. See Building your Kitchen and Garden.
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As the Kitchen Garden Program has implications for the whole school curriculum and timetabling, there must be complete support from the Principal, the School Council, a majority of the staff and the school community if a school is to become part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. However, there are steps that interested parents or teachers can take to initiate the process:
Read about the Program in the book Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids (Stephanie Alexander and Anna Dollard, Penguin Books 2006). Copies are available via the Kitchen Garden Shop or at major bookstores.
View the DVD An Introduction to the Kitchen Garden Program, available from the Kitchen Garden Shop.
Talk with others about the Program and seek out others who would be interested in raising awareness in the school community. This could be done through a notice in the school newsletter.
Once you have done the background research you will be ready to:
Meet with the school Principal to talk about the Program
Write to the School Council requesting they look into participation in the Program, or seeking permission to set up a working group of interested parents and teachers to put together a proposal for school participation.
You could also:
Make contact with a local nursery or gardener or even parents in the school who might donate seeds, seedlings or labour.
Assess the possibility of allocating space within the school for conversion to a kitchen.
While participation in the Program is limited by available funding, you would certainly enhance your school community’s chance of selection by taking the above steps.
- Read all the information on this website and ask the school community to do the same.
Once you have done the background research you will be ready to:
- Attend a meeting of the Parents’ Association at the school, and talk about the Program
You could also:
- Seek permission to start a small, pilot vegetable garden in the school, to be built and planted through a working bee. Involve children in the planting of the garden.
While participation in the Program is limited by available funding, you would certainly enhance your school community’s chance of selection by taking the above steps.
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There is much information that can be obtained by a school community via this website (including messages from Stephanie), and presenting the website to staff at a school meeting is a good way of introducing others to the aims of the Program. Such a meeting could also view the DVD An Introduction to the Kitchen Garden Program, available from the Kitchen Garden Shop.
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Stephanie could never meet all the demands for her to speak. However, an interview with her is available on the DVD An Introduction to the Kitchen Garden Program, available from the Kitchen Garden Shop.
Once schools have been selected in each round of funding, Stephanie will attend community meetings where possible.
Once schools have been selected in each round of funding, Stephanie will attend community meetings where possible.
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A Foundation Project Officer can visit the school to advise, support and assist once a school has been selected for participation in the Program.
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While each participant school will timetable the Program in its own way, the aim is that all children in grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 will participate in the Program, spending at least 45 minutes in the garden and at least 1½ hours in the kitchen each week or fortnight depending on the timetabling cycle. The Program is not elective, nor short-term. If it is to have an impact on the eating habits and wellbeing of children, it needs to be embedded in the life of the school.
Another key feature of the Program is the use of kitchen and garden specialists working alongside class teachers and community volunteers. This is necessary so that children have the guidance in both kitchen and garden to do complex tasks. This has implications for the structuring of the Program. Another feature of the Program is the emphasis on pleasure, and good fun. Work in the garden and the kitchen is treated as a productive and practical activity rather than a theoretical activity – although inevitably classroom teachers will make creative links between what is happening in the kitchen and the garden, and the whole school curriculum.
Another key feature of the Program is the use of kitchen and garden specialists working alongside class teachers and community volunteers. This is necessary so that children have the guidance in both kitchen and garden to do complex tasks. This has implications for the structuring of the Program. Another feature of the Program is the emphasis on pleasure, and good fun. Work in the garden and the kitchen is treated as a productive and practical activity rather than a theoretical activity – although inevitably classroom teachers will make creative links between what is happening in the kitchen and the garden, and the whole school curriculum.
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Schools are responsible for funding the Kitchen Specialist and Garden Specialist roles. Grants funds may only be used for the establishment of the kitchen and garden. Schools must be able to demonstrate that they can fund these specialist positions and furthermore work toward the complete financial sustainability of the Program in the future.
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The key costs to the school are the salaries of the Kitchen and Garden Specialists. Other costs include the establishment of the garden and kitchen – often more expensive than anticipated. (We have learned through bitter experience, for example, of the mistake of building a garden on a poorly drained block.) Recurrent costs are for supplementary produce, dry goods, kitchen cleaning and maintenance, garden supplies such as seeds, seedlings, soil and mulch and garden maintenance.
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Government funding is currently only available to government schools. Other organisations wishing to run the Kitchen Garden Program are encouraged to access the Foundation’s Subscription Program.
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The Kitchen Garden Program is most effective with young children. Food learning happens at home from birth and habits are established very early, so intervention during primary school years is the ideal strategy.
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Of course kids can still eat chips and occasionally they might make them in class. There is no such thing as ‘bad’ food in this Program, rather an emphasis on introducing children to a range of delicious, fresh, home-grown and home-prepared foods. So there is no place for chips every day. Variety is part of the Kitchen Garden Program philosophy.
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The Kitchen Garden Program is designed for children from Years 3 to 6 (i.e. ages 8–12) and, while there is absolutely no reason why kinder-aged children can’t also experience the joy of planting, growing, harvesting, cooking and eating together, a program that recommends suitable plants, dishes and activities for this age group needs consideration, and to date the resources of the Foundation have been directed towards primary-aged children.
However, we know that some kindergartens find the information on our website inspiring, and we always recommend Stephanie Alexander & Anna Dollard’s book Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids as an excellent resource for anyone wanting to grow and cook with children. This book details the vision, planning and process of the first kitchen garden at Collingwood College. The book also includes 120 recipes that have been cooked by the children themselves, and there will be some in there that are suitable for even the youngest children to execute alongside adults, using with basic kitchen facilities. The book can be purchased online via the Kitchen Garden Shop. Alternatively, the book can be purchased at most bookshops, or even borrowed from your local library.
As far as specific gardening information goes, we would recommend putting the word out among the parents. There are undoubtedly keen vegetable gardeners among them who would have simple ideas about getting started with just one bed. They may also be able to help with setting up a simple compost system.
However, we know that some kindergartens find the information on our website inspiring, and we always recommend Stephanie Alexander & Anna Dollard’s book Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids as an excellent resource for anyone wanting to grow and cook with children. This book details the vision, planning and process of the first kitchen garden at Collingwood College. The book also includes 120 recipes that have been cooked by the children themselves, and there will be some in there that are suitable for even the youngest children to execute alongside adults, using with basic kitchen facilities. The book can be purchased online via the Kitchen Garden Shop. Alternatively, the book can be purchased at most bookshops, or even borrowed from your local library.
As far as specific gardening information goes, we would recommend putting the word out among the parents. There are undoubtedly keen vegetable gardeners among them who would have simple ideas about getting started with just one bed. They may also be able to help with setting up a simple compost system.
