California Senate Bill 341 (SB 341), introduced by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D), aims to strengthen educational school garden programming in public schools across the state. The Bill would establish dedicated funding for instructional gardens and a statewide framework to support implementation. Senators Ochoa Bogh (R) and Susan Rubio (D) are co-authors.
“I’ve always been a really big supporter of school gardens,” Pérez tells Food Tank. “I specifically remember being a kid and [having] a very small school garden at my school…We had these little cups of soil, and they gave us worms and it was so much fun. It’s like a core memory.”
Vicki Moore, Founder of the nonprofit Living Classroom, tells Food Tank that “school garden-based education makes learning come alive through experiential, engaging and outdoor instruction.” The California School Garden Coalition cites a number of studies reporting the benefits of garden-based education, including enhanced social and emotional learning, nutrition education, physical health, resilience and agency, and academic success.
But Pérez says that many school gardens in California lack adequate support and sustainable sources of funding. “Oftentimes, these gardens are being self-funded by teachers who are just really passionate.”
The California School Garden Coalition reports that although approximately 50 percent of California school districts have school gardens, only 30 percent have garden-based education, and 14 percent have food-systems education. Less than 10 percent report having both.
Moore tells Food Tank that many California schools received a one-time grant from the original Instructional School Garden Program (ISGP) to establish school gardens back in 2006. “But that’s the easy part,” she says. “The hard part is funding an ongoing, standards-aligned, garden-based instructional program integrated with schools’ curriculum.”
Part of the challenge is that gardens require maintenance. “Without a dedicated instructional and maintenance program in place, the vast majority of school gardens garner excitement and interest initially but eventually become “ghost gardens” after the initial champions leave,” says Moore.
If passed, SB 341 will revise the existing ISGP and reassign it from the California Department of Education to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Moore notes that the CDFA has more experience supporting school gardens and more flexibility to work with community-based organizations and accept private grants.
“[This is] key, because from a funding perspective we know that money, especially around Prop 98 can be really tight,” says Pérez, referring to the Proposition that allocates a portion of the state budget for K-12 education. “But this is something that connects not just to education, but also to nutrition—children understanding where their food is coming from and getting them excited about healthy eating.”
Moore echoes this sentiment. “Students that once thought they didn’t like tomatoes, kale, or beans absolutely love them when they grow them. It’s a game changer.”
The Bill would require that the CDFA create a working group of stakeholders to guide program development. It would also require the CDFA to establish the Instructional School Gardens and Maintenance Fund to provide schools with a sustainable funding source.
Pérez is proud that the Bill has garnered robust bipartisan support. “[It] is a reflection of a mutual understanding between folks across party lines… that these are the kinds of policies that most Californians want,” says Pérez. “Making sure we’re providing a robust education to our students, that we’re encouraging healthy eating, that we’re making education fun and exciting and interactive.”
Amidst Moore says that state programs will be “the way to go” because of cuts to federal funding cuts for school garden programming, Pérez emphasizes that SB 341 does not rely on any federal dollars.
The Bill received unanimous bipartisan support at the Senate Education Committee and at the Senate Agriculture Committee. Next, it will go to the Senate Appropriations Committee before heading to the Assembly.
Pérez is optimistic. “So many of us, including myself, have been thinking about a back-to-basics approach,” she says. “And things like healthy food… for our kids and our seniors… like a comprehensive education. Those are core things that we all agree on.”
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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
