At Annie’s, we’ve seen firsthand how a garden can change a child’s life, and we believe strongly in making sure children have the opportunity through their schools to see how real food is grown. Creating small gardens doesn’t take much—just a seed in warm, moist soil; nature does most of the hard work. Even seeds in a paper cup offer a rich context for learning. When kids grow vegetables, herbs, and fruits themselves, they’re much more likely to both try and enjoy them, often making mealtime an educational experience for parents, too! We call these “gardens of goodness.”

We started Annie’s Grants for Gardens program in 2008. Each year, we’ve been able to help more and more schools create and sustain gardens with the money we provide, as well as by offering practical (and free!) gardening resources for parents and teachers through our website.We’re proud to help make gardens in schools a reality for so many reasons. Working or playing in a garden gives us all a chance to learn to slow down and connect with each other and our environment.