How it All Began - Back to the Beginnings of Garden to Table

In 2008, inspired by her friends at the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation in Australia, Catherine Bell founded the Garden to Table Programme in Aotearoa New Zealand.  

“I had long been concerned about the growing lack of knowledge and understanding about food.” says Catherine, “like most new projects, this one started small and grew, not like a weed but more sedately and gradually, like at apple tree, first bearing just a few fruit, then maturing until it produced a multitude each season.”  

Catherine Bell joining a Garden to Table session at East Tāmaki

The pilot programme kicked off in 2009 with three schools in Tāmaki Makaurau – Auckland who are still part of the programme today. Some of the staff at these schools took a leap of faith and headed to Melbourne to see the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Programme in action and brainstorm how it would work in their schools. They got off to a strong start and word of the programme slowly spread. Over the next five years schools throughout the motu signed up and by 2014 there were 26 schools involved in Garden to Table.  

Fast-forward to 2024 and we now have over 325 schools growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing with us and 14 Regional Coordinators to support school communities in every region of the country.  

To celebrate 15 years of Garden to Table we went and talked to some of those people who were there right at the start and were brave enough to get stuck into a brand new initiative. Carlene White from Meadowbank School was one of the staff who went on the initial trip to Melbourne and helped her school start what would become a 15-year legacy as a Garden to Table Model School.  

Tamariki from Meadowbank School in their māra

“We went back and said yes, absolutely keen. We can see how this programme is going to enhance and enrich our existing environmental focus in our school, and we could see the potential about the way that it could strengthen our community links and our well-being work and just all the things - it was just a big hard yes!”  

Sarah Mirams from East Tāmaki School has also been involved right from the beginning and as the principal she made the decision to give it a go, bringing her team of enthusiastic staff along with her. From humble beginnings they’ve grown their programme to include the entire school. 

“We started with one senior class, and we had two very small gardens, and we used the school canteen kitchen for our cooking….as of this year, every child is involved with Garden to Table. The senior classes have always been involved on a rotating basis, and then we moved down to the middle school and this year we've included the juniors and that includes the five-year-olds.” 

Tamariki busy in the māra at East Tāmaki School 2014

Seeing the programme grow and develop over 15 years and witnessing first-hand hundreds of students being empowered with valuable life skills has been very meaningful for both Carlene and Sarah. When asked to reflect on their most treasured moments over their time they both had infinite examples and shared about many special times, learnings and people. 

“One of my highlights of the whole Garden to Table programme over those 15 years was one of the parents saying, ‘when I saw my child eat silverbeet I nearly fell off my chair’ and that was that very first session! With his peers and being part of the process and part of the harvesting and part of the cooking he devoured silverbeet.” remembers Carlene.  

The welcome sign at Meadowbank School

Sarah loves the community the programme creates. “A highlight is the way we share the food. We always start off with karakia or waiata. They [the children] sit down and eat with the volunteers and some of the staff who've been working with them that day join them as well. I think that's a real highlight sitting down at that table like a family.” said Sarah.  

Volunteers and tamariki sharing kai together at East Tāmaki School

Carlene also acknowledged the community support for the programme “It’s actually the most valued programme in our community surveys that we do every year with our parents, where we ask them how valuable these programmes are. We offer a lot – Enviro, PE specialists and music programmes. Garden to Table always comes out top. It is the most valued programme in our school.” 

We are proud to see that more and more people are recognising the importance of the Garden to Table programme and this year it was named in the top five policies for a healthier and more sustainable Aotearoa*. 

Over the past 15 years, Garden to Table has profoundly impacted tamariki, schools, and communities across Aotearoa. By teaching children to grow, harvest, prepare, and share kai, the programme has empowered over 100,000 tamariki with practical life skills while fostering an appreciation for seasonal kai and sustainability. These real-world lessons have enriched educational outcomes, strengthened community connections, and contributed to environmental stewardship. 

Pumpkin harvest at East Tāmaki School

Founder, Catherine Bell reflects on the past 15 years, “Needless to say, I am extremely proud and thankful that the programme has reached this 15-year milestone. It’s taken a lot of work by a lot of people to get here. I thank them all. To think how many thousands of children the programme has impacted along the way is very gratifying. I hope we have made a real difference to their lives.” 

Ani Brunet, CEO of Garden to Table, highlights the programme's transformative potential: "We face huge challenges across health and the environment, and education and our food systems play a critical role in the solutions we need for a healthier, more sustainable, and food-secure future. The connections that children make are both essential and transformative for more positive health, social, and environmental outcomes. Garden to Table is positive and solutions-focused – connecting tamariki to nature at an early age and providing social connections as kai brings people together - these connections, coupled with educational enrichment mean the programme will only become more popular into the future.” 

Looking to the future, Garden to Table aspires to expand its reach to ensure every child in Aotearoa has the opportunity to experience these benefits.  A goal Sarah Mirams is right behind “I would love that every school has an opportunity to have Garden to Table or some variation on that theme and can therefore see the benefits of what it does provide. It's lifelong learning. It's an integrated curriculum.” 

By building on the strong foundation of the past 15 years, we aim to deepen our impact, integrating our kaupapa into more schools and communities nationwide. As Ani Brunet says, "We have come too far, not to keep going!" 

*https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/09-07-2024/five-realistic-policy-ideas-for-a-healthier-nz