Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

We provide the inspiration, information, professional development and support for educational institutions to deliver pleasurable food education in conjunction with educators, partners and the wider community.

The Kitchen Garden Foundation was established by Stephanie Alexander AO in 2004, in response to the overweight and obesity crisis, with the aim of instilling positive life-long food habits in children and young people.

We aim to develop children’s positive relationships with food, as well as using the garden and kitchen as learning and engagement spaces that are integrated with the curriculum and meet a wide range of educational, wellbeing and leadership.

Kitchen Garden members are supported in their unique kitchen garden journey with a range of products and services including:

• professional development, information sessions and community networking opportunities
• printed educational resources
• ready access to the Foundation Support Team

• access to the Shared Table, an active online community and extensive library of teaching resources, curriculum-aligned activities, recipes and videos

• self-assessment tools which deliver targeted support materials throughout a school or services journey

• In the Kitchen Garden Program, schools run structured, regular garden and kitchen classes in gardens on school grounds that are designed and maintained by the students, and home-style school kitchens that are often refitted or multi-purpose rooms. This skills-based, sensory learning provides students with understanding and experience in growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing fresh, delicious food at school, building positive food habits for life. This real-life learning is integrated across the entire school curriculum and culture, reinforcing academic studies and achieving learning outcomes across the Australian Curriculum.
• The Foundation supports and inspires the 800+ Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program schools to deliver the Kitchen Garden Program.
• We continuously develop our food education knowledge, training and educational resources, in order to empower more communities to embrace pleasurable food education.
• We provide access to the kitchen garden online community, educational resources, professional development and Foundation support to any early learning, primary or secondary school and other interested parties – known as the Kitchen Garden Classroom.
• We strive to see pleasurable food education mandated in all Australian schools with a primary curriculum.

The Foundation maintains a small, dedicated team of passionate professionals, supported by a team of generous, equally passionate volunteers. Please join our mailing list to keep up to date with employment opportunities.

More information about the philosophy of the Foundation, and the team can be found on our website, About Us.

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the delivery of pleasurable food education to children. All donations received help us support schools and learning centres to educate children in the benefits of growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing their own fresh, seasonal, delicious food.  Please contact the Foundation if you would like to include the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation in your Will.

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation is a registered not for profit charity, with a preventive health promotion program focusing on addressing the childhood obesity crisis. We rely on the generosity of individuals, philanthropists, corporations and all levels of government to support our work. Please contact the Foundation to find out how you can support our work.

The Foundation has a small number of volunteers supporting us in our Melbourne office, or at adhoc training sessions around Australia. Please contact Lucy Permezel at the Foundation if you are interested in volunteering.

Teachers, specialists and volunteers delivering food education in schools are engaged directly by their educational facility – please contact a local Kitchen Garden School if you would like to become a kitchen garden educator.  You can find a school near you here.