We’re growing food for the community and providing video lessons for students at home.

Even though school gardens are empty of students, we are still growing food for the community. Our spring harvest was a success with 680 pounds (1,860 heads) of lettuce going to local food banks. In addition, 2,000 lettuce seedlings were given to families in our partner schools to grow on their own.

This summer, we’re growing nutrient-dense vegetables for donation including squash, beans, carrots and kale. As of September 15, we’ve donated 5,000+ pounds of produce. But, that’s not it! We’ve got video lessons available for teachers and parents to use for home learning. See below for more information about educational resources for teachers and parents.

With our Garden Team working more than usual, this effort is straining our budget. If you find yourself in a position to give, please donate to our Food For Families Campaign. You’ll receive a copy of our Home Garden Resource Guide as a thank you!

You can provide fresh produce to families in need.

And receive our Home Garden Resource Guide as a thank you!
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Donate to our Food For Families Campaign

Educational Resources for Teachers and Parents

We are adapting our lesson plans to make them easier to use at home with minimal materials and parent support. Many of these lessons include videos (in English and Spanish) for students to watch before completing the worksheet provided or going outside to explore. Additionally, to avoid reinventing the wheel, we’re curating resources from around the country.
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Access Educational Resources

Home Garden Resource Guide

Created by our Garden Director, Laurel Smith, this guide provides instructions and tips for growing the garden of your dreams. You’ll benefit from our 13 years of experience in the school garden business as well as Laurel’s 9 years of farming/gardening experience. If you don’t receive it already, please sign up for our newsletter and you’ll immediately receive a link to this online guide.
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Get our Home Garden Resource Guide

Environmental Education for a Changing World

To build resilience in a changing world, we need to educate our youth about the environment and teach them skills that will help them to live well and heal the earth. Garden to Table believes that garden education can do exactly this. Students with an understanding of ecological processes and an ethic of environmental stewardship will be able to solve problems and create solutions for a more regenerative world. Our school garden program provides the content and the context for impactful learning.

Thank you Earth Coast Productions for capturing our little farmers in action!

Health Education for At-Risk Youth

Children who grow their own food are more likely to eat it and to express a preference for fruits and vegetables. At a time in history when rates of new diagnosed cases of diabetes are on the rise for kids and teens, especially among minority groups, it is imperative that we teach all students the importance of healthy eating and active living. Equally important are the skills needed to grow their own food and the opportunity to develop a taste for fresh fruit and vegetables. Garden education has the ability to do exactly this and our standards-based curriculum is designed to engage children in this type of learning.

9,000 students at 20 elementary schools in Colorado
2,500 students on the Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program
89% of our students tell us they have tried a new fresh fruit or vegetable through our program
90% of our students understand their science curriculum better through hands-on lessons in the garden
Read about the impact of our program

Teacher Support to meet District Goals

We are the only school garden support organization serving Boulder County. As academic standards change, teachers are asked to implement new teaching strategies and curriculum in their classrooms. Garden to Table provides a standards-based, hands-on curriculum for teachers to use in their school gardens. Our curriculum is designed to address the Next Generation Science Standards and the 2020 Colorado Academic Standards, and is being translated into Spanish to allow for better participation by an increasing Hispanic population. Each school has access to a private website with curriculum documents, scheduling tools and gardening resources.

Our school has unanimously chosen year after year to renew our contract with Garden to Table because of the quality of support they offer, the benefit to students and the ease of use for teachers.

Amber Billington, Fireside Elementary 3rd grade teacher
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