Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden (SAKG)
The aim of the Kitchen Garden Program
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.
Benefits for children
Through a kitchen garden program, children learn:
•positive food habits for life
•about their natural environment, the seasons, and how to care for gardens
•practical skills, from recycling, upcycling, composting and preserving to budgeting and fundraising
•life skills, such as cooperating, sharing, critical thinking and leadership
•by doing and having fun (they don’t even realise they’re learning)
•to be engaged, especially those who face barriers learning in the traditional classroom environment.
Links to the curriculum
There are countless opportunities for embedding pleasurable food education into the curriculum. Kitchen garden learning is integrated with technology – from planning, designing & construction for a specific purpose eg herb gardens and bee safe havens, developing procedural text through recipes and sharing cultures through menus and celebrations. Learn more.
A kitchen garden program can also support wellbeing programs, cross-age tutoring between students, inquiry learning, project-or problem-based learning and interdisciplinary approaches, such as STEM.
Benefits for schools
Kitchen garden programs give schools:
•practical skills for growing and preparing fresh, seasonal, delicious food
•a hub for community engagement as educators, families, students, business owners and others from the community come together to share food, learn and have fun
•an understanding of the importance of food systems, food security and sustainability
•opportunities to recruit volunteers to develop healthy, secure school communities.
