This week Mansfield was front and centre with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation!

The Farmhouse was selected by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation (SAKGF) as the location for their annual photoshoot. They only select two early learning centres in the whole of Australia each year for this, and this year they requested to come to Mansfield’s very own early learning service, The Farmhouse !

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation is an Australian not-for-profit founded in 2004 by legendary cook Stephanie Alexander AO. The Foundation aligns with services that embody their own positive food education philosophies and who deliver fun, hands-on and inclusive food education for children.

The globally recognised and evidence-backed Kitchen Garden Program equips children with the skills to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, affordable and culturally diverse food, enabling them to develop positive food, wellbeing and sustainability skills for life.

The Farmhouse was chosen for their expansive outdoor environments, thriving large gardens tended by the children and a comprehensive ‘paddock to plate’ pleasurable food education program. Program longevity is also essential. The Farmhouse was one of the first services to integrate the program into early years learning and have been delivering the Kitchen-Garden program for 15 years.

The photoshoot took place across the various vegetable and herb gardens at The Farmhouse, collecting eggs from the resident chickens, in the kitchen making the Tomato, Basil and Onion Tart and later the children were able to enjoy eating what they’d made.

“It’s a huge honour to be chosen by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation for their photoshoot. The children love the program and benefit everyday from the real-life, hands-on learning opportunities”, said Kim Stoney, Founder and Director of The Farmhouse. “Parents shared our excitement for being selected, confirming their child is developing positive food habits for life”.