South Australian funding for the Kitchen Garden Foundation

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation has been awarded a multi-year grant from the Minister for Education, Training and Skills to support South Australian educators to implement positive food education.

The Government of South Australia’s Department for Education will invest $153,781 over the next three years to ensure more young South Australians have the chance to develop lifelong skills and confidence in cooking and gardening through pleasurable food education and the globally-renowned Kitchen Garden Program.

Hon Blair Boyer MP said, “When children and young people have access to healthy food, they are more likely to achieve their learning potential. This investment will enable our schools and preschools to meet immediate food security needs, as well as offer schools valuable opportunities to teach skills that will last well beyond the classroom.

The link between healthy eating and student engagement is critical, and the more accessible we can make it to those who need it most, the more our children and young people can achieve their best.”

Stephanie Alexander AO, Founder of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, said, “Our big dream is for all Australian children and young people to have access to positive, hands-on education in the kitchen and garden. Pleasurable food education links students to positive health, wellbeing and sustainability practices that are even more essential now than they were two decades ago.”

CEO of the Foundation, Rob Rees MBE DL, said he is thrilled to be partnering with the Government of South Australia to support all children across the state. "The Kitchen Garden Program has been shown to significantly improve children’s food literacy, create social connections and influence positive habits for life, all whilst generating joy and community cohesion. Collaborative partnerships with government ensure that more children, families and communities are enabled with hands-on experiences like ours."

To coincide with the funding announcement, South Australia will host the 2025 National Kitchen Garden Awards on Tuesday, 16 September at Kilkenny Primary School, which is a finalist in the First Nations Food award and a recent recipient of the World Environment Day Award from the United Nations Association of South Australia for their whole-of-school Kitchen Garden Program.

About the grant agreement

This investment will enable more government schools and early childhood services across South Australia to participate in food education by offering:

• A free educational resource pack for all South Australian educators (Term 4, 2025).
• An annual in-person professional development day, free for South Australian educators to attend.
• An annual virtual tour of a South Australian Kitchen Garden Program school or early childhood service, free for South Australian educators to attend.
• Ongoing personalised support for South Australian Kitchen Garden Program members via email, phone, video call, professional development, and 'Getting Started' webinars for new members.

To learn more about the benefits of the Kitchen Garden Program in your school or early childhood service, please contact our Support Team, available five days a week. 1300 072 543 or support@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au.