To sustain our edible garden programs we use a community-based approach that empowers each school to achieve their goals. We partner with parents, teachers, administrators, food service staff, and after-school coordinators to create and form a Garden Team Committee that is responsible and accountable for the school’s edible garden program from one year to the next.
In the past, edible school gardens would rise and fall based on the the commitment of one parent or one teacher. Now with our school garden support system, we provide each school’s Garden Team Committee with the focus, direction, and accountability to make their garden an integral part of the school’s culture and educational experience. We provide each team with coaching, professional development, technical resources, and garden supplies to ensure their garden program is supported and sustained into the future.
We use a diversified fundraising model, with no government funding, that provides us the resources and stability to sustain our edible school gardens into the future. We collaborate and partner with local agriculture businesses, restaurants, school districts, parent-teacher associations, charitable foundations, and non-profit organizations to financially support our program and raise awareness about the value of garden-centered and farm-based education. This diversified fundraising model provides us the resources and stability to sustain our edible school gardens.