Enhancing Food Literacy and Food Security through School Gardening in Rural and Regional Communities

Abstract

A qualitative case study approach with in-depth, semi-structured interviews of key school staff, and student feedback was used to assess a school kitchen and garden program in the regional area of North-West Tasmania, Australia. A detailed program description was produced to conduct a realist evaluation with a Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration, followed by a program theory evaluation through the construction of a retrospective program logic model. Dedicated kitchen and garden spaces, knowledgeable teachers committed to the program, provision of sufficient materials and consumables, and support from the school and community were found to be the basic requirements to establish a program. Additionally, it is essential to integrate both the kitchen and garden teaching components into the school curriculum. The positive outcomes (e.g., engagement, participation, knowledge, skills, behavioral change) of the program were dependent on the underlying factors, including dedicated support of school leadership, teaching staff, and the parent body for effective student engagement in the teaching spaces and for wider engagement from families and the community. The students’ feedback provided supporting evidence of increased food literacy with improvements in their understanding, abilities, and attitudes towards gardening, producing healthy food, and preparing food. This may further lead to enhanced food security for students’ families and the broader community.

Enabling social approaches for contextualised learning at primary schools

“…It meant that many learners were able to contribute to the activities and to the collective creation and sharing of knowledge building on their experience from home. The gardens also allow for experiential learning, which supports the findings of multiple studies (Block et al, 2012;Williams and Dixon, 2013;Holloway et al, 2023). While many learners might struggle to recall what they learnt in class during 2023, there is a high likelihood that as a group they will be able to piece together a story about the gardens from the start to the finish, and will be able to perform the songs that they created, despite the project having finished some months ago.…”

“…A number of studies have found that the usefulness of gardens as a tool for enriching the learning environment depends on the buy-in of knowledgeable staff with access to necessary resources, as well as attention to curriculum development to support the integration of classroom and outdoor learning processes (Williams and Dixon, 2013;Holloway et al, 2023). The TESF project has initiated very useful discussion and exchange of ideas between NGO staff and educators about the benefits of food gardens and alternative teaching methods and provides a sound basis for future work of this nature.…”