Victorian funding for school food education

Now that the school year is in full swing, we’re excited to share the fantastic line-up of funding opportunities and free events available to Victorian schools through our partnership with VicHealth.

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation has partnered with VicHealth to ensure more young Victorians develop lifelong skills and confidence in cooking and gardening through preventative, positive food education.  

We believe that every child should experience the joy of growing and harvesting fresh produce, as well as preparing meals to share with their classmates. That’s why primary, combined, and special schools across Victoria are eligible to take part in these initiatives, even if they are not yet members of the Kitchen Garden Program. 

• If your school has ever considered linking learning to nourishing food and the therapeutic benefits of the garden, now is the perfect time to get started.
• For schools already running cooking, food waste, sustainability, or wellbeing programs, these new opportunities will deepen your approach and help embed kitchen garden principles across the whole school. 
• Already a Kitchen Garden Program member in Victoria? We remain committed to delivering exclusive benefits, tailored support, and resources for our valued members while working with VicHealth to broadly introduce more Victorian schools to the benefits of food education. 

What’s on offer for your school?

Free recipes | Available now!

To celebrate Harmony Day, we’ve published educator-approved recipes that have been enjoyed by schools participating in the Kitchen Garden Program. These global recipes provide a fun and delicious way to explore different cultures through food. Our news story includes all the recipes, plus conversation starters about cultural ingredients and a guide to seasonal produce. 

Free webinar | Monday 5 May, 4.00 pm  

Have a sticky beak of a Kitchen Garden Program in action. Join Casterton Primary School in regional Victoria to experience a Virtual Tour of their kitchen garden. With just over 100 students enrolled, see how the Kitchen Garden Program helps them strengthen learning opportunities, celebrate cultural diversity and support mental health and wellbeing goals. 

Registration is essential, so click here to ensure you don’t miss out. 

Free food education guide | Term 2 

With over 20 years of experience and more than 1000 Kitchen Garden Program schools nationwide, we’ve developed an easy-to-follow guide to help schools get started with positive food education. We will teach you how to ‘start small and dream big’, explain what’s needed to set up a kitchen garden from scratch and show you all the benefits of food education for children. 

Be the first to access this resource by subscribing to our email newsletter. 

School grants | Term 3 and Term 4 

During Terms 3 and 4, the first of two grant rounds will be unlocked to support 30 Victorian schools. Recipient schools will receive a two-year membership to the Kitchen Garden Program, plus a $1500 infrastructure grant to finance new kitchen garden equipment or supplies. 

Click here to register your interest. 

In-person professional development | Term 3 and Term 4 

Victorian educators will have the opportunity to attend free in-person professional development days. More information will be announced later this year.  

For details on any of the above opportunities or to learn more about the benefits of the Kitchen Garden Program in your school, please contact our Support Team, available five days a week. 1300 072 543 or support@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au. 

VicHealth and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation are partnering to ensure more young Victorians can develop lifelong skills and confidence in cooking and gardening through preventative, positive food education and the Kitchen Garden Program.