Kindergardens for All

Public school gardens are a frontline response to the obesity epidemic. So why aren’t there more of them?

Illustration: Von Glitschka

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


In 1995, California state superintendent of education Delaine Easton pledged that each school in California would someday grow a garden. With research showing that children who plant and harvest their own fruits and vegetables are more likely to eat healthy food, gardens are seen as a frontline response to the obesity epidemic. Additionally, kids who are exposed to environment-based education score higher on standardized tests than students who aren’t. That’s why, in 2006, California allotted $15 million to “starting and sustaining” school garden programs. And where state budget support ends, sometimes community grants and corporations kick in: Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, for example, funds a growing number of school gardens as part of its efforts to encourage physical activity and healthful lifelong nutrition.

Today, more than a third of California’s some 9,000 public schools have a plot of food space.

Want to start a school garden, or find out how it’s been done elsewhere? Visit the California School Garden Network or the National Gardening Association’s Kids’ Program for more information.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate