Farm to School
Recipe Kits
Blue Diamond Community Grants program has allowed Garden Joy to continue the Farm to School Recipe Kit program!
This program provides 125 -150 Farm to School Recipe Kits once a month to our local Title 1 school, where 50% of students qualify for free lunch.
Each Kit includes a healthy recipe, fresh produce from our garden and other local farms, plus all of the ingredients necessary to create a simple, seasonal meal that serves 4 people.
The Garden Joy Farm to School Recipe Kit program provides 500 - 600 meals monthly to students and families in our local community.
We donate 150 kits per month which equals 500-600 meals a month and they are donated to local schools in Ripon.
Grant funding has been used to fund the first two distributions and will continue to be used throughout the year to fund this project. This summer, we are partnering with another non-profit to deliver the Recipe Kits to the residents of food deserts in South Stockton. They will be going to people who lack access to affordable and fresh produce.
By the end of 2022, Garden Joy plans to have distributed 1475 Farm to School Recipe Kits, equivalent to almost 6,000 meals!
We also utilize fresh produce donations from local farms for the Recipe Kits, so the price per kit varies depending on what we must purchase and what we get donated. Leftover grant funds will be used to fund cooking classes for local youth at our Ripon Farmers Market.
"Our Farm to School Recipe Kit program has been so fun to be a part of! It's such a cool thing to be able to provide families with fresh produce and the opportunity to be able to enjoy preparing a healthy meal together!"
— Heather Crooker, Board Secretary and Ripon Farmers Market Director