Frequently Asked Questions
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 out to my school and speak?
Q: Can a Kitchen Garden Project Officer visit our school to advise us?
Q: How is the Program structured?
Q: Do you pay the Kitchen and Garden Specialists?
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. In partnership with the Victorian Government ‘Go for Your Life’ initiative, the Foundation is working to establish the Kitchen Garden Program in an additional 20 Victorian government schools with primary enrolment in the year 2009. Expressions of interest from Victorian schools for this next round of funding have now closed. See Grants
Following the November 2007 federal election, further federally funded grants will be made available to schools across Australia. The selection and application process for these grants will be determined after the initiative becomes policy, and schools will be advised of the details. It is envisaged that the criteria will be reviewed, and will include a request for schools to submit detailed plans of and budgets for their proposed garden and kitchen. (A water management plan will also be required.)
Tours of the Collingwood College program are run regularly by the Foundation office, and can be booked from early in the school year 2008. You may also wish to visit your nearest participant school in the program. Alternatively, contact the Foundation office to find the name and address of the school that is closest to you.
You can stay in touch with the Foundation by subscribing to our newsletter for updates on the Foundation's work.
See also response to question 4.
Following the November 2007 federal election, further federally funded grants will be made available to schools across Australia. The selection and application process for these grants will be determined after the initiative becomes policy, and schools will be advised of the details. It is envisaged that the criteria will be reviewed, and will include a request for schools to submit detailed plans of and budgets for their proposed garden and kitchen. (A water management plan will also be required.)
Tours of the Collingwood College program are run regularly by the Foundation office, and can be booked from early in the school year 2008. You may also wish to visit your nearest participant school in the program. Alternatively, contact the Foundation office to find the name and address of the school that is closest to you.
You can stay in touch with the Foundation by subscribing to our newsletter for updates on the Foundation's work.
See also response to question 4.
Q: My school does not have a kitchen but we would like to work towards a Kitchen Garden Program.
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. One school has shared a kitchen space with a neighbouring school.
An ‘outdoor’ kitchen (such as a wood-fired bread oven or bbq) is insufficient for Program participation, since children must be cooking every week of the school year, in rain or shine.
It is envisaged that in the future new schools will be planned with a multi-purpose room that could be converted into a kitchen if the school wished.
An ‘outdoor’ kitchen (such as a wood-fired bread oven or bbq) is insufficient for Program participation, since children must be cooking every week of the school year, in rain or shine.
It is envisaged that in the future new schools will be planned with a multi-purpose room that could be converted into a kitchen if the school wished.
Q: What needs to go in a kitchen? Can you send me plans?
A:
Each school will develop 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. There must, for example, be 4 – 6 workstations 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 & Garden.
Q: I want to do this at my school, but where do I start?
A:
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). Every Victorian school was issued a copy by the Harold Mitchell Foundation in 2006, and copies are available via the website shop or at major bookstores.
View the DVD Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation: growing, harvesting, preparing, sharing (available from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation)
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 at this stage by available funding, you would certainly enhance your school community’s chance of selection if the above steps had been taken.
- 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 at this stage by available funding, you would certainly enhance your school community’s chance of selection if the above steps had been taken.
Q: Can someone from the Kitchen Garden Foundation come out to my school and speak?
A:
A. There is much information that can be obtained by a school community via the 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 Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation: growing, harvesting, preparing, sharing (available from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation).
There may be some circumstances when it is appropriate for a Foundation member to speak and requests should be made to the Foundation office.
Once a school is selected as participant in the Program, the school will run a community meeting at which someone from the Foundation will make a formal presentation.
There may be some circumstances when it is appropriate for a Foundation member to speak and requests should be made to the Foundation office.
Once a school is selected as participant in the Program, the school will run a community meeting at which someone from the Foundation will make a formal presentation.
Q: Can Stephanie Alexander come out to my school and speak?
A:
Stephanie Alexander could never meet all the demands for her to speak. However, an interview with her is available on our DVD Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation: growing, harvesting, preparing, sharing (available from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation) link to contact us page and there are several TV features in which Stephanie talks about the program. These include a ‘Go for your life’ program screened on Channel 7 (Series 1 Episode 4, 27 October 2007).
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.
Q: Can a Kitchen Garden Project Officer visit our school to advise us?
A:
A project officer can visit the school to advise, support and assist once a school has been selected for participation in the Program.
Q: How is the Program structured?
A:
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 be a participant in the program, spending at least 45 minutes per week in the garden and at least 1 hour 30 minutes in the kitchen for each timetable cycle. For most schools this is a weekly cycle. For some schools it is a fortnightly cycle. The Program is not elective, nor short-term. If it is to have an impact on the eating habits and well being of children, we believe it needs to be well 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 quite 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. Read more at Kitchen Garden Program
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 quite 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. Read more at Kitchen Garden Program
Q: Do you pay the Kitchen and Garden Specialists?
A:
The Kitchen and Garden Specialists are paid for by the school, who will be given an overall grant toward establishment of the kitchen and garden, and the payment of the specialist staff. The grant will be insufficient to cover all costs, and schools must contribute from their own budget if they are to participate. Furthermore, schools must then work toward the complete financial sustainability of the program in the future. This means that schools will need to make relationships with local councils, community groups and businesses for assistance in building sustainability.
Q: What are the overall costs to the school?
A:
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.
Q: Will the Foundation only support government schools?
A:
Initially we want to establish Kitchen Gardens in government schools where the need is greatest. Hopefully the information we make publicly available will be of assistance to a private school that is meeting all of its own costs.
Q: Will the Foundation only support primary schools?
A:
The Foundation believes that the Kitchen Garden Program is most effective with young children. Ideally food learning happens at home from birth and habits are established very early.
Q: What! No more chips!
A:
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 philosophy.
Q: We are a kindergarten – can we start a Kitchen Garden Program?
A:
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 our website for $39.95 (please note that the postage cost of $10 is not included in the price). 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 our website for $39.95 (please note that the postage cost of $10 is not included in the price). 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.
