Dear Parents and Carers,

This year we are very proud to announce that we are officially a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden school. The overall aim of the Kitchen Garden Foundation is to introduce young children to the wonderful world of good food through developing a productive food garden and an exciting kitchen that includes a nurturing place to share food, as an integral part of the school curriculum. The Kitchen Garden Program is a fun, hands-on learning program delivering pleasurable food education. With strong curriculum integration and a focus on student well-being, collaboration, and leadership, students learn to grow, harvest, prepare, and share fresh, seasonal, delicious food – forming positive food habits for life.

As well as instilling positive food habits in students through growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing fresh produce, a kitchen garden program offers: 

• life and practical skills
• student wellbeing and connectedness
• alternate ways of learning for increased engagement
• investigations into sustainability and food security. 

• curriculum-integrated materials adaptable to any school environment 
• personalised support and guidance, including dedicated project officers 
• professional development opportunities
• community of practice for support and inspiration
• increased community and social inclusion. 

By joining the program, we hope to engage the curiosity of our students and to help them learn how to grow the very best food in the very best way, how to care for it in the garden, how to recognise when it is ripe and at its best, how to prepare it easily and enjoyably and how to develop an expanding culinary palate and be excited by all of these experiences. 

We are grateful for the collective expertise of a number of staff, school and wider community members who have given their time and energy to assist in getting the program off the ground at St Mary’s. In particluar we welcome, Jodi Donnelly, a Milton local with a background as a chef and caterer, who has joined the St Mary’s Kitchen Garden Team to help lead the initiative.

An integral part of the success of the program, is community support. Once established, we will be calling on volunteers to support classes both in the garden, and in the kitchen. For now though, we are asking for any donations of gardening supplies such as:

• Potting mix
• Seeds
• Seedlings
• Gardening tools
• Seedling trays
• Watering cans
• Gardening gloves (children and adult sized)
• Mulch
• Fertiliser

In additon, any donations of excess fresh produce from your own gardens that could be used in the kitchen will be gratefully accepted. Please contact Annieliese Robinson (robinsona10@dow.catholic.edu.au) or Anna Sim (a.sim@outlook.com), if you have any would like to donate supplies, or your time. 

To find out more about the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation please see www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

Kind regards,

Julie Valentini and the Kitchen Garden Team.