$2,000 Whole Kids Garden Grant Program

Women who would like to teach children about growing a garden can apply for a grant to help cover the costs of the project. Whole Foods Market, through their Whole Kids Foundation, offers a $2,000 Whole Kids Garden Grant Program. The grant program helps support teachers and those in the community who want to work with children to help grow a garden. This grant is a great opportunity for women who want to get children some hands-on gardening experience.

Whole Foods Market is one of the most successful natural food stores in the country. Their popularity and success has prompted them to give back to the communities, which is why they have grant programs, including the $2,000 Whole Kids Garden Grant Program. The company finds ways to help teach children to choose a healthy path in life, and knowing how to grow a garden is one way to help them be healthy. Their garden grant program helps people to work with children to grow gardens, giving kids the hands-on experience they need to understand how growing healthy food works.

Women who are either teachers or have a community nonprofit organization where they can work with children to grow an edible garden are encouraged to apply for this grant. Here are some important details about the Whole Kids Garden Grant program:

• The Garden Grant program accepts applications every year from September 1 through October 15. Early in September, they usually offer a webinar, which is an online discussion, to provide people with more information about the grant and to answer questions people may have.
• Those who are chosen to receive a garden grant will be notified by February 15 of each year.
• The Garden Grant program is not open to those who work with preschoolers. The children who will be working with the garden project that you propose need to be in a K-12 grade in order to qualify. They do not accept applications from places that only offer early education (for children under the age of five). If your organization or school offers early education, as well as learning opportunities for children ages five and up, then you are eligible to apply for the grant.
• At this time, they only provide garden grants for those in the United States and in Canada.
• While there are many Whole Foods Markets around the country, you do not need to live by one of their markets in order to qualify for the grant. Living near one of their stores will have no bearing on whether or not you are chosen to receive a gardening grant.
• The Whole Kids Garden Grants are open to public schools, public charter schools, private schools, nonprofit organizations, and charity nonprofits. Non-school organizations that are eligible include places such as the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, after school programs, botanical gardens, educational farms, children’s museums, children’s hospitals, etc.
• You can only get one grant award for your garden project. This means if you have been awarded the grant once, you cannot re-apply for another one. They want to help as many different people as possible to have a garden project, so they try to spread around which places get the grants.

The Whole Kids Foundation has given out grants to thousands of schools and organizations around the country, helping people to teach children how to garden. They have awarded nearly 5,000 garden grants to schools, giving teachers the funds they need to provide children with a hands-on food growing experience. In addition to providing the gardening grants, they also provide garden lesson plans. Their gardening lesson plans provide people with the curriculum they need to go along with teaching gardening to children. The lesson plans, which are available online, teach children about gardening and botany, nutrition, agriculture, consumer education, and more.

From learning how to sprout seeds to investigating soil to learning about seasonal growing, children gain many benefits from being a part of the Whole Kids Garden Grant Program. Women who are teachers or work at a community organization where children attend should consider applying for the Whole Kids Garden Grant Program. Not only will children learn how to grow their own food, but they will become more interested in eating healthier, and will get an opportunity to gain the many benefits of being outdoors in a garden.