Garden to Table

16/10/2026

🌱 The Garden to Table Seedling Sale is on next week! 🌱

From 19–23 October, more than 90 schools and kura around Aotearoa New Zealand are selling seedlings their tamariki have been raising for months. Pick up some veggies and flowers for your own garden, and every dollar you spend goes straight back into that school’s Garden to Table programme.

A big thank you to our sale sponsor T&G Global, and to Tui Garden Products for donating the seeds and Seed Raising Mix that got every school growing. 💚

Is your local school taking part? Find the full list here 👉 https://gardentotable.org.nz/stories/seedling-sale-2026

Each school sets its own sale day, so check with them for times.

01/10/2026

Over the past few months, we've welcomed decision-makers from right across the political spectrum into Garden to Table schools, and it's been a series of visits we're incredibly proud of.

Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan and Ricardo Menéndez March MP (Green), the Hon Ginny Andersen MP and Tangaere-Manuel MP (Labour) Laura McClure MP (ACT), Dr Naomi Pocock for Hamilton East (Opportunity), and Chatterton for Papakura (National), each spent time in the garden and kitchen alongside our tamariki, seeing first-hand what's possible when learning moves off the page and into hands-on action.

These visits are part of our longer-term strategy: building awareness of the impact and importance of this programme, and developing relationships with our leaders. For this series of visits, we invited education spokespeople from every political party to experience Garden to Table’s integrated and curriculum enriching learning.

Food education isn't about party lines, it's about giving every child in Aotearoa New Zealand the opportunity and resources to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh kai, while building confidence, teamwork, and problem-solving.

We've been encouraged and heartened as we’ve seen our guests' positive responses to the learning that so naturally happens as tamariki take the lead in the garden and kitchen.

Ngā mihi to each of the politicians who took the time to visit, ask questions, and get involved. And to the incredible staff, volunteers and students at Edendale School, Karaka School, Arakura School, Newstead Model School and St. Martins School thank you for so warmly hosting us and role modelling Garden to Table so beautifully - we couldn't do this without our schools, who we are so very proud of!

18/09/2026

Today, tamariki at School showed another of our invited guests what they can do in the garden and kitchen. As part of our cross party visits, today our guest was Emma Chatterton for Papakura, National Party candidate for Papakura who has a background in education.

There was plenty to showcase. Tamariki were busy weeding garden beds and planting strawberry plants, and learning how to grow tipu (slips) from kūmara they'd grown themselves. Older students worked alongside a younger class in a tuākana-tēina approach, and it showed - the older students clearly took pride in guiding the younger ones through each task.

Lunch was a true reflection of their mahi: kūmara gnocchi made from a variety of coloured kūmara, crispy oven-baked chips using the skins and a tomato sauce made with herbs straight from the garden. Everyone, tamariki, kaiako (teachers), and adult helpers alike, sat down together to share the meal.

"This is an enriching learning experience for the kids, with great opportunities for cross-curricular learning like fractions, temperature, and measurement." - Emma Chatterton

Visits like this are part of a deliberate effort on our part: bringing decision-makers face-to-face with the impact this programme has on students, teachers, and their wider school communities.
A big thank you to Karaka School for such a warm welcome today, and for showing how much all students benefit from working together and learning how to grow and cook kai.

17/09/2026

What does hands-on learning actually look like? This week, Dr Naomi Pocock for Hamilton East, Opportunity Party’s education spokesperson, got to find out for herself.

Naomi spent the day at a Garden to Table school and got to see tamariki dig trenches for potato planting and plant an array of flowers for pollination and pest control. In the kitchen she got amongst the team as they made pizza scrolls from their summer preserves all to be washed down with fresh lemon water and good kōrero (talk) around the table.

It's a small snapshot of something bigger: curriculum-linked learning that builds real skills - teamwork, confidence, problem-solving - through the everyday act of growing and cooking kai.

"For me it’s about children feeling grounded in their learning and I see this at Garden to Table. The learning is holistic – it benefits their brains, their bodies and their wairua." - Naomi Pocock

Visits like this sit at the heart of why have opened our doors to MPs from every corner of Parliament. Food education isn't a left or right issue - it's about every child having the chance to grow, harvest, prepare and share what they've made.

Our thanks to Newstead Model Country School for hosting us so warmly and demonstrating what a day in the life of a Garden to Table student looks like.
More cross-party visits to come as we keep championing hands-on food education for tamariki across Aotearoa New Zealand.

15/09/2026

Ngā mihi nui - a huge thank you to the team at Nimbl Consulting 🌱

Recently, Nimbl worked alongside our Education Team to help shape our new Education Strategy - running workshops that brought kaimahi together to reflect on what's working, spot where we can do better and build a shared vision for the road ahead.

The result: a clear plan focused on making our learning resources more practical and user-friendly, strengthening support for our Education Facilitators, and making it easier for schools and early learning centres to get their Garden to Table programme up and growing.

Thank you, Nimbl, for helping our team turn great ideas into a real, actionable plan.

Read the full story to see how it came together 👇

As Garden to Table continues to grow, we wanted to make sure every school and early learning centre receives the best possible support to establish and sustain a thriving Garden to Table programme.  To help us do this, we partnered with Nimbl Consulting to develop our new Educ

14/09/2026

This week we're celebrating te reo Māori and the kupu we use every day at Garden to Table. From tamariki tending the māra, to hapori gathering to share kai, to ākonga learning where their food comes from: te reo is already woven through everything we do in the garden and the kitchen.

This year's kaupapa, Tāone Reo Māori, is about honouring the communities, big and small, keeping the reo strong. In our 300+ schools and centres around the motu, that means kaiako and kaimahi using kupu Māori in the garden bed, at the kitchen bench and around the table.

A few to try this week: māra (garden), kīhini (kitchen), tēpu (table), ako (to learn/teach), hauora (wellbeing).

Kia kaha te reo Māori! How is your school or whānau celebrating this week?

10/09/2026

Garden to Table's cross-party MP visits continue. This week we welcomed Laura McClure MP, ACT's spokesperson for Education, to see our programme to see for herself what learning looks like when it moves from the classroom into the garden and kitchen.

Laura joined ākonga (students) for the day as they harvested spinach, made hearty soup and made their own butter and garlic bread - getting a firsthand look at how Garden to Table turns curriculum learning into something tamariki can taste, touch, and take pride in. It's hands-on food education in action - building practical skills, confidence, and teamwork every step of the way.

"It's incredible to see the children all working together right through the process of growing, cooking and sharing food, and to have the community so involved." - Laura McClure

We're committed to opening our doors to MPs from right across Parliament, because the benefits of this kind of learning matter regardless of political stripe. Seeing tamariki lead the way in the garden and kitchen is a powerful reminder of what's possible when learning gets hands-on.

More visits are on the way as we keep making the case for food education for every child in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā mihi nui - a huge thank you to St Martin’s School for hosting us so warmly today.

04/09/2026

Another Garden to Table school welcoming Members of Parliament into the garden and kitchen! Today we hosted Hon Ginny Andersen MP , Labour Party spokesperson for Education and Cushla Tangaere-Manuel MP , MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti as part of our ongoing invitation to MPs from across the political spectrum to see our programme first-hand.

Ginny and Cushla rolled up their sleeves alongside tamariki, who spent the day doing sensory learning with lemon balm, potting up seeds, tending the garden and making a fresh salad to go with lunch. It's a great snapshot of what happens in a Garden to Table classroom every week - practical food skills paired with teamwork, problem-solving, confidence, and a real connection to where kai comes from, all tied directly to the curriculum.

"I’m a real fan of Garden to Table. It’s so great to see all the learning the children gain from growing, cooking and sharing kai together." - Hon Ginny Andersen

Giving decision-makers a chance to see, taste, and feel the impact hands-on food education has on students, teachers, and the wider school community is really important to us.

We'll keep inviting MPs from across Parliament to experience Garden to Table in action over the coming weeks, because the case for hands-on food education for tamariki across Aotearoa New Zealand is one worth making again and again.

A huge thank you to Arakura School for their manaakitanga today.

02/09/2026

Such an ātaahua (beautiful) example of community coming together to support a shared vision.

01/09/2026

⏰ Just 24 hours left to double your donation!

Tomorrow, our matched funding closes — and with it, the chance to help twice as many tamariki experience the life-changing benefits of Garden to Table.

Today, your $20 donation becomes $40, supporting a child through a whole year of Garden to Table.

One gift, generations of impact.

👉 Donate now and double your impact: www.gardentotable.org.nz/spring2026

Generations of impact with one gift  (that doubles!)  One gift today. Twice the impact for generations to come.Thanks to generous matched funding, every dollar you donate will be doubled, helping twice as many tamariki experience the life-changing benefits of Garden to Table. Donate now and double...