$250,000 for Coles school store partnership

Since 2020, Coles and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation have developed a collaborative partnership to make the Kitchen Garden Program accessible to more schools and services around the country.

The school store partnerships initiative has made new connections between Coles stores and over 70 Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program schools — or neighbouring schools keen to join our Program. In 2023 alone, Coles partnered with 17 schools from across the country and donated close to $250,000 in grants. 

Each school receives a donation to go towards optimising how they run their Kitchen Garden Program. The grant has been used to start new garden builds, replace kitchen infrastructure, or get started with a membership. The partnerships are creating fun, meaningful community exchanges and impact.

Photo credit: Ravenswood Heights Primary School 

These local partnerships between schools and stores are identified by our Foundation staff and Coles. Together, we create connections in the community to support schools to develop their kitchen and garden goals.

The partnerships are a great opportunity for Coles staff to connect with local teaching staff, students and families. Often, Coles staff have joined in on garden working bees, maintenance, and volunteering in classes.

In turn, partnered schools are invited to tour their local Coles store to learn about fresh produce. They’re often given opportunities to promote fundraisers in the store to assist with growing the school’s Kitchen Garden Program even further. 

Photo credit: Ravenswood Heights Primary School 

Ravenswood Heights Primary School in Tasmania have partnered with their local Coles store for the past two years. The financial support from Coles allowed their students to have new cooking, gardening and educational resources to improve the Kitchen Garden Program experience at their school. 

“We are very fortunate to have this high level of support from Coles; it is greatly appreciated by our school and local community,” said Jason Gunn, Principal at Ravenswood Heights Primary.

Our work at the Foundation is only made possible with the continued support of our partners, and we sincerely thank Coles for their commitment and generosity to supporting children and young people to develop positive food, wellbeing and sustainability habits for life!

Interested in joining the Kitchen Garden Program? Take a look at our membership options.