School and youth garden programs can focus on influencing dietary behavior, enhancing environmental awareness, teaching entrepreneurial skills, and can serve as an outdoor classroom to teach just about any subject there is.
Our office considers school and youth gardens to be a specialized form of community garden. Our community garden programs are also open to school garden programs, and they are a good way to get one started. We can also advise on educational programing and matters of curriculum. Please contact Maggie Rivera, rivera.482@osu.edu if interested.
Farm to School
Related to school garden programs is the effort to get fresh, healthy, local food into our schools. It is a win for farmers and a win for students. Here are some additional resources on Farm to School.
* National Farm to School Network
* USDA Food and Nutrition Service Farm to School
* USDA Food and Nutrition Service Farm to PreSchool