Nurturing a love for healthy food, nine early childhood centres are creating new kitchen gardens with a share of $25,000 in small grants from HealthWISE.
Children in centres across the HealthWISE service footprint will learn to grow, harvest and prepare fresh fruit and vegetables and begin developing positive associations with healthy food.
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. The garden will provide a sense of purpose and responsibility, develop mindfulness, awaken the senses and inspire the future farmers within our children,” Shaun Banham from Goodstart Wood Street Warwick said.
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. The garden will provide a sense of purpose and responsibility, develop mindfulness, awaken the senses and inspire the future farmers within our children.
Grants of up to $3000 each will go towards developing the kitchen gardens and a membership in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, an online community which provides professional development and resources for educators establishing kitchen gardens.
This is the second year for the initiative, which helped 15 centres create kitchen gardens in 2023 as part of the HealthWISE Gift Fund, which supports community projects that promote health and wellbeing.
“Embracing another year, we’re excited about supporting more early childhood education centres with our HealthWISE Gift Fund grants,” HealthWISE Health Promotion Officer Kritika Jain said.
“Encouraging fruit and vegetable intake through kitchen garden initiatives not only improves nutrition but also fosters positive food habits for a healthier life, reinforcing the connection between a healthy body, mind, and environment.”
Narrabri’s Kogil Street Preschool is looking forward to cooking from their own vegetable garden and sharing the produce with families. Educator Kate Rice hopes that growing and tasting food from the preschool’s own garden will cultivate children’s healthy eating habits.
“As the majority of our children are from farming families, our children have a passion for understanding the way our foods are grown,” Willow Tree Preschool educator Leah Meyer explained. She said the preschool will have a “very hands-on approach”, encouraging children to choose which foods are grown and later incorporated into their cooking sessions.
Teacher Sarah Watkinson said Westside Christian College in Goodna, QLD is also looking forward to sharing “the love of growing and cooking foods,” with its kindergarten students.
Children at Gunnedah Preschool are already enjoying their garden.
“We strongly implement sustainable practices in our service and can’t wait to start growing and maintaining our own wholesome, fresh produce to extend on our healthy eating practices, and learning, and cooking experiences,” Gunnedah Preschool educator Tarryn Noble said.
Goodstart Tamworth South centre director Kylie Murphy said the grant has helped the service develop their existing kitchen garden further, “growing delicious fruit and vegetables that the children are loving.”
Established in 2018, the HealthWISE Gift Fund provides small grants to support activities focused on disease prevention. Past initiatives supported include Tamworth Cycle Club bike skills sessions, a Moree Secondary College girls fitness program and a carnival for the Pilliga New Generation Football Club.
To donate or learn more about the HealthWISE Gift Fund, click here.
