Beyond Blue ranks the Kitchen Garden Program

In a recent news article, Director of Deakin University Food and Mood Centre Felice Jacka OAM spoke about the impact diet has on mental health, saying research shows "a link between the quality of people's diets and their risk of depression", with evidence showing that "what children eat in their early years influences their mental and brain health".

Through participating in the Kitchen Garden Program, children and young people are empowered with the confidence, knowledge, skills and inspiration to grow, cook and enjoy fresh, seasonal food.

Research demonstrates the links between consuming fresh foods (particularly vegetables and fruits), and improvements in mental health. Replacing discretionary foods with core foods like vegetables and fruits leads to improvements in emotional regulation, cognitive function and sleep quality, and not surprisingly, better learning outcomes.  

Growing a mentally healthy generation

For more than 20 years, people in Australia have placed their trust in Beyond Blue as a reliable source of mental health information, support, and hope. Beyond Blue was appointed to lead Be You by the Australian Government in June 2017.

Be You is the national mental health and wellbeing initiative for learning communities in Australia. Delivered by Beyond Blue in collaboration with Early Childhood Australia and headspace, Be You's goal is to empower and support educators to promote mental health and wellbeing for every child and young person in Australia.

The Kitchen Garden Program has already been recognised on the Wellbeing panels of state education departments, and on ARACY's Wellbeing in Education panel for its demonstrated impact in all 6 domains of the Nest: Australia’s wellbeing framework for children and young people. The program is also aligned with the World Health Organization's Health Promoting Schools, the National Children's Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the National Preventive Health Strategy.

The Kitchen Garden Program ranked highly 

We are equally proud to be included on the Be You programs directory as a recommended resource for educators to support a whole learning community approach to mental health and wellbeing. Be You have awarded our program as having strong alignment with four out of five of their domains:

• Mentally Healthy Communities
• Family Partnerships
• Learning Resilience
• Responding Together

Further to this, Be You regard our Kitchen Garden Program as positively influencing student mental health and wellbeing by:

• improving food literacy and behaviour
• building life-long skills, confidence, agency and pride in achievements
• supporting all types of learners to experience school success
• increasing physical activity and the therapeutic benefits of green spaces and nature connection, and
• engaging students, families, and communities in school life thereby building social capacity and connection.

Their evaluation recognised the Kitchen Garden Program as having a beneficial impact on:

• culturally and linguistically diverse populations
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people
• low socioeconomic groups
• developmental based adaptations, and
• children and young people with disability and/or learning difference 

Keen to dig in?

Experience the boundless impact of the Kitchen Garden Program, by reading our Impact report, or connecting with our Support Team for customised advice to get the program up and running with your class.

Contact our Support Team on 13000 SAKGF (13000 72543) or support@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au.