On The Land
4 May, 2025
Costa supports local schools
TWO local primary schools will be joining a Kitchen Garden Program this year for the first time as a result of the Costa Group’s new partnership with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.
Atherton and Mareeba state schools are among 10 nationwide to join the program which empowers children and young people to develop lifelong skills in growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing fresh, seasonal food.
The 10 schools are all located in areas where Costa have farms to foster connections between education, agriculture, our workforce and the community.
The first 10 schools are the first to receive support through the Costa three-year partnership, which will eventually see a total of 30 schools or early childhood services welcomed into the kitchen garden community across Australia.
“We know that an effective way to do this is through educating children about the benefits of eating a balanced and nutritional diet, which includes regular serves of fresh fruit and vegetables, and we are delighted to be teaming up with the foundation to support schools in our local communities,” Costa chief executive officer Marc Werner said.
“Providing hands on gardening and cooking experiences will not only help develop an understanding of plants and nutrition but also provide a safe calming space to nurture student wellbeing.”
Each sponsored site will receive a two-year membership to the Kitchen Garden Program.
An infrastructure grant has also been provided to support their kitchen garden activities. This could go towards repairing or building garden beds, purchasing new cooking equipment or adding a compost system or irrigation.
