School garden grant program gives students hands-on gardening skills

AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Kids Foundation in partnership with FoodCorps is now accepting online grant applications for its first major initiative, the School Garden Grant Program, which will be funded by a six-week, in-store donation drive at all Whole Foods Market stores, and online at wholekidsfoundation.org, from now until Sept. 30.

Created to help schools grow students’ relationships with food through gardening, the new program stems from the nonprofit’s mission of supporting schools’ efforts to improve children’s nutrition.

Goal

Through the Whole Kids School Garden Grant Program, the Foundation and partner FoodCorps will offer $2,000 grants, along with curriculum, resources and mentorship, to 1,000 schools.

FoodCorps’ expertise in gardening, and its ongoing support will help schools build and sustain their gardens to ensure long-term success. All schools and garden-related nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for grants to support the launch or expansion of school gardens.

Benefits

According to research done at the UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools, access to a school garden:

• Improves knowledge of nutrition, food preferences, and consumption of fruits and vegetables

• Allows for the integration of multiple subject areas

• Enhances overall academic achievement

• Provides children with an understanding of agriculture and the environment

• Improves life skills, self-esteem, social skills and behavior

From now through September, shoppers can donate to the project at store checkouts or online through wholekidsfoundation.org.

In addition to $2,000, each grant recipient will receive a copy of How to Grow a School Garden by Arden Bucklin-Sporer and Rachel Pringle, and a digital garden kit that includes an online resource center, discounts for gardening supplies from various partners, and ongoing opportunities for mentoring and support from FoodCorps.

Grant deadline

The Foundation will be accepting grant applications through Dec. 31, 2011, and recipients will be notified in February 2012.

The garden grants will be awarded to local schools, districts and garden-related nonprofit organizations through an online grant process, which will be administered by the Whole Kids Foundation and FoodCorps.

Criteria

To apply, each school must secure a community partner that will help them sustain a long-term garden. The school must also provide basic background information, including a photo of its garden site, proposed budget and timeline for the project, goals for the garden and an explanation of how students will be engaged.

Whole Kids Foundation is based in Austin, Texas, and operates as an independent, nonprofit organization. For more information on the Foundation, ways parents can engage their schools and how to apply for a school garden grant, visit: wholekidsfoundation.org.