School Garden Grants

Posted by on August 29, 2011

Whole Kids Foundation Invites Applications for New Grant Program to Support School Gardens
Deadline: December 31, 2011

The Whole Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by Whole Foods Market to support schools and inspire families to improve children’s nutrition and wellness, is accepting grant applications for its first major initiative, the School Garden Grant Program.

Designed to help schools grow students’ relationships with food through gardening, the new program stems from the Whole Kids Foundation’s mission of supporting schools’ efforts to improve children’s nutrition. The grant program will be funded by a six-week, in-store donation drive at all Whole Foods Market stores and online at the Whole Kids Foundation Web site from August 17 to September 30. FoodCorps, a nonprofit national service organization that seeks to reverse childhood obesity by increasing children’s knowledge of, engagement with, and access to healthy food, will help administer the grant program and will provide mentorship services and other resources to grant recipients.

The program will provide grants of $2,000, along with curriculum resources and mentorship, to one thousand schools to launch or expand school garden projects.

To be eligible for a garden grant, applicants must be a nonprofit K-12 school or school district (public, private, or charter; elementary, middle, or secondary), or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working in partnership with one or more K-12 schools. Applicants must be developing or currently maintaining a school garden project that will help children engage with fresh fruits and vegetables. Garden projects may be at any stage of development, planning, construction, or operation. For cases in which an applicant facilitates garden projects in more than one school, multiple garden grants may be requested under a single application. In occasional cases, additional funds may be awarded for special projects. In selecting grant recipients, priority will be given to both limited-resource communities and projects that demonstrate strong buy-in from stakeholders. There is a limit of one garden grant per school.

Visit the Whole Kids Foundation Web site for complete grant program guidelines and the online application.

http://wholekidsfoundation.org/gardengrants.php