• THE AWARDS ARE NOW CLOSED. The nine winners of the National Kitchen Garden Awards 2026 have been revealed on 15 September 2026.
  
  
• The National Kitchen Garden Awards are open to all early childhood services and schools across Australia. Entering is easy! Applications are open until Friday 7 August.

• Nine prize packs, each close to $5000 in value, include a Kitchen Garden Program membership, a cash grant and a kitchen garden pack with a wicking bed, garden tools, cooking ingredients, and more!

The National Kitchen Garden Awards are back for a third year, celebrating the creativity of kitchen gardens in schools and early childhood services across Australia.  

Whether you’re growing native herbs in a small mobile garden or creating veggie-packed dishes in the kitchen, the awards recognise the inventive, community-driven ways educators and young Australians use their kitchen garden to learn about health, wellbeing and sustainability.    

The celebrity judges 

Stephanie Alexander AO, Kylie Kwong AM, Connie Cao and Darren Robertson will review finalists and select the most resourceful and innovative entries across the nine award categories. 

We’re not looking for perfection — show us your creativity and passion. We can’t wait to read your stories!  

 The prize pack 

Close to $5000 in value will be gifted to each of the nine category winners. What’s on offer: 

• A two-year membership to the globally recognised Kitchen Garden Program. Already a member? Enjoy a two-year extension of your membership. Membership includes: 
  • Personalised support via phone, email and video calls with the Kitchen Garden team. 
  • Access to the Shared Table, our online kitchen garden resource library and community hub.  
  • Professional development designed to guide you at every stage of your kitchen garden journey. 
  • Workbooks with lesson plans and inspiration, and more! 

• A $1000 kitchen and garden infrastructure grant. 

• A kitchen garden pack including: 
  • A WaterUps garden bundle with an Oasis 1680 wicking bed, two square planters, a flexi garden bed cover, and a reservoir level indicator.
  • A Herbie’s Spices ingredient pack.
  • Wiltshire kitchenware 
  • A 20 kg crate of JAZZ Apples. 
  • A Gardening on Country bundle with four Womby hand trowels, four Casso hand forks, four Bandi dibblers and a tote bag. 
  • Natural, organic garden solutions from Seasol. 
  • A Worktones voucher. 
  • 12-month subscription to ABC Organic Gardener magazine. 
  • A signed copy of Fresh by Stephanie Alexander. 
  • A copy of Your Asian Veggie Patch by Connie Cao. 
  • A TigerCorp timber watering can winner’s plaque. 

How to apply  

• Entries are open to all Australian early childhood services and schools (primary, combined, specialist and secondary) in every state and territory. You don’t need to be a member of the Kitchen Garden Program to apply. 
   
• Schools and services can self-nominate. Parents and Citizens’ associations, and equivalent bodies, may also nominate on their behalf. 
   
• Entries must be 200 words or less and include one photo. 
   
• You may enter as many categories as you like. Applications close at midnight on Friday 7 August 2026.   

Share some of the ways you’ve learned about sustainability, climate change and preventive practices in the kitchen or garden. Are you composting, recycling, reusing, or reducing? Have you minimised food waste with pro pickling and preserving? APPLY NOW.

This award recognises an outstanding kitchen garden educator, volunteer or staff member who has shown creativity, dedication and leadership in inspiring children to grow and cook. Tell us about somebody who has created impact in their school or early childhood service. APPLY NOW.

Celebrate the next crop of budding chefs, green thumbs or student-run clubs. This award recognises young leaders who are showing passion or innovation in the kitchen or garden. Tell us about a kitchen garden enthusiast or team. Perhaps they’re the first to volunteer for watering duties, experiment with creative flavour pairings, or bring clever ideas to garden design. APPLY NOW.

Grab your clipboard and get curious! If your kitchen garden is a living lab where children explore real-world science, technology, engineering and maths, we want to hear from you. Do you measure and design garden beds, calculate seasonal yields, track plant growth, or experiment with fermentation in the kitchen? APPLY NOW.

We want to see your most delicious recipes using fresh, seasonal produce from your kitchen garden, whether it’s a twist on a classic or something completely new. Show us how you’re inspiring young cooks to explore cultures, taste new flavours, and experiment with herbs, spices and ingredients. APPLY NOW.

Show us how you’re incorporating First Nations knowledge into your kitchen garden learning. Do you grow Australian native ingredients to celebrate culture? Have you connected with First Nations communities to enrich children’s understanding of Country? APPLY NOW. 

Show us some great examples of how your kitchen or garden has impacted families and community members around your school or early childhood service. Have your students taken produce to a local market? Have you partnered with a local business or brought in wonderful volunteers? APPLY NOW.

The sights, smells, textures and stories of the kitchen garden are full of inspiration. Show us how you’re using nature and food to inspire creativity, self-expression and artistic exploration. Have children created garden mosaics, nature-inspired sculptures, botanical prints, food photography or song? APPLY NOW.

We know getting hands-on in the kitchen and garden is great for our mental health, fitness and wellbeing. Show us a kitchen or garden activity that has improved the wellbeing of children. Does your garden offer a space to reflect and connect? Do you gather around a table to share delicious, inclusive meals and conversation? APPLY NOW.

We can’t wait to celebrate green thumbs and budding chefs from around the country! 

Finalists will be announced at the beginning of Kitchen Garden Month in September, with winners revealed at a celebration hosted by Stephanie Alexander AO at Stanmore Public School (NSW) on 15 September 2026. 

If you have any questions about the awards or the Kitchen Garden Program, please contact our Kitchen Garden team at membership@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au or 1300 072 543, and join our next info session. 

For media queries, please contact audrey.bourget@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au.

With thanks to our award category partners 

With thanks to our prize partners