Garden to Table

🥕 1,335,600 meals. 33,390 tamariki. 318 schools.
Our 2025 Annual Report is out — packed with stories of kids discovering foods for the first time, cooking in te reo Māori, saving seeds, and feeding their whānau.
Tamariki are change-makers. Here's the proof 👇
https://gardentotable.org.nz/stories/annual-report-2025

Become a monthly donor this month and receive a free copy of Bounty. For the price of a coffee a week you could have a huge impact - giving children skills for life.
👉Sign up now -

Regular Giving Page — Garden to Table Become a monthly supporter today! Will you help create positive and sustainable change? Make a meaningful and enduring impact for tamariki and Garden to Table with a monthly donation.  $10 per month supports THREE children in the programme for a YEAR*  $20 per month supports SIX children in the p...

🌺 Talofa lava! This week, we’re celebrating Samoan Language Week – Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa 🇼🇸🌿
At Garden to Table, we love to celebrate the rich cultures of our schools and communities. Language is a bridge that connects us to our roots, stories, and shared experiences. This week, we honour the beauty of Gagana Samoa, traditional Samoan recipes and growing practices and coming together to share mea'ai (food).
Fa‘afetai tele lava - a huge thank you to our Samoan-speaking community for sharing your language and culture with us.
🌿 Manuia le Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa! 🌿

🥔It's fitting that today, the International Day of the Potato, Garden to Table can proudly announce our new partnership with Potatoes New Zealand!

Potatoes are a Garden to Table staple, and we’re excited to work alongside Potatoes NZ who champion local growers and the nutritious health benefits of potatoes across Aotearoa.

“We are stoked to be partnering with Potatoes NZ, and having their support to educate and encourage more children and whānau to enjoy potatoes. From the far north to the deep south, thousands of tamariki in our kura (schools) and early learning centres LOVE growing, cooking and eating yummy potatoes together.” Ani Brunet, CEO, Garden to Table

We can’t wait to get more Garden to Table schools learning about the benefits of growing, preparing and cooking potatoes.

Nau mai, haere mai Potatoes New Zealand! Welcome to the Garden to Table whānau!

Working alongside Waste Net and Southland Enviroschools, Garden to Table helped to facilitate a week of waste workshops, engaging over 180 tamariki. Together, we explored what waste actually looks like in our daily lives and more importantly, what we can do about it. From reducing avoidable waste to rethinking how we use unavoidable waste, the learning was practical, relevant, and grounded in real-world problem solving.

Through this, we were able to bring our Root to Tip – Para Kai Kore – Zero Food Waste resource to life. Kaiako could clearly see how these lessons align with the refreshed maths curriculum, as well as how they can show and engage tamariki in hands-on learning about what actually grows in their region. That moment when students realise food is not just from a supermarket is always powerful.

At One Tree Point School in Te Tai Tokerau - Northland, their Garden to Table programme has grown to include the whole school, giving every child the chance to experience the joy of growing and preparing food. In their very first session, their youngest tamariki became “taste explorers”, focusing on the humble carrot.

Using their senses, they explored the taste, smell and texture before transforming carrots into boiled carrots, carrot salad, carrot fritters and even carrot juice. What a fantastic way to discover just how many ways a simple vegetable can be prepared, enjoyed and shared.

Did you catch us on TVNZ Breakfast this morning?
Thanks to our friends at My Food Bag we had the chance to acknowledge one of our wonderful volunteers with their Foodie Gifts & Care Packages. Tamariki from Dominion Road School in Tāmaki Makaurau - Auckland gathered to celebrate the amazing Lorraine who has volunteered in the kitchen for their Garden to Table programme for the last 11 years.
It was so special to be able to recognise Lorraine on national television and we are so proud to have her as part of our community.
Check it out on TVNZ on demand.

🌱A highlight of Garden to Table is seeing the connection between a school programme and its wider community. A grandparent visited his grandson's garden session at Holy Cross School in Te Whanganui-a-Tara to plant oregano seedlings in the māra and demonstrated to the tamariki how the dried leaves from the plant stalks produce one of the essential ingredients for their Lebanese za'atar.

It was a true moment of connection, sharing and learning. A great reminder of the special knowledge held in all our school communities that we can share with our tamariki.📖

What a wonderful day at Flatbush School! 🌱
We were thrilled to see volunteers from the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Foundation getting involved in Garden to Table last week. Seeing our incredible funders roll up their sleeves alongside our tamariki is a beautiful reminder of what community looks like. Thank you Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Foundation - your support goes far beyond funding. Ngā mihi maioha. 🙏

Dame Cindy and Dr Davies have been longstanding supporters of Garden to Table, with Dame Cindy serving as Patron of the Trust. Their Excellencies were delighted to visit Birchwood School this week and participate in their Garden to Table programme, helping tamariki with planting seeds, preparing fresh vegetables and cooking delicious fritters.

We asked principals in our Garden to Table schools about the programme. Here's what they had to say...

Help create food security for our tamariki 🥦

📈1 in 4 NZ children don't have reliable access to food.
🌱Together, we can change that. Garden to Table empowers over 33,000 tamariki across the motu. Just $40 supports one child for a whole year of growing, cooking and sharing kai.

Donate today to be part of the change
👉🏽 https://gardentotable.org.nz/march-campaign

Check out the new song by our friends The Nukes - Vege Punk!
You might even recognise a few of our Garden to Table tamariki.
Watch it here - https://youtu.be/hXcqnc-xHVY?si=xlbBHPMLlsVRLtmE

'Vege Punk' the new Nukes Vege anthem - watch it here https://youtu.be/hXcqnc-xHVY?si=xlbBHPMLlsVRLtmE

🎸🎤It's here! Check out some of our Garden to Table tamariki rocking out in a brand new veggie song from our friends The Nukes

This new video, made with funding from NZ on NZ On Air Tamariki to celebrate 15years of Garden to Table working in schools throughout Aotearoa can now be seen on Youtube- check it out!! we think it's fab 😎

https://youtu.be/hXcqnc-xHVY?si=hM6qyqYWOqF3aQ7j

🌱 We're hiring! Education Facilitator – Mid North Island

Garden to Table is looking for an Education Facilitator to join us, based in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) or Tauranga.
This part-time role sits at the heart of what we do — supporting schools and early learning centres to build sustainable, impactful Garden to Table programmes. You'll be working directly with principals, programme champions, and school teams, facilitating professional development, and helping schools take real ownership of their kaupapa.

If you have a background in education or facilitation, love building relationships, and want your work to make a genuine difference for tamariki and whānau across Aotearoa — we'd love to hear from you.

📍 Based in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) or Tauranga | Work from home + regional travel
🕐 22 hours per week
📅 Applications close 5 March 2026 — we're reviewing as we go
👉https://jobs.dogoodjobs.co.nz/job/20587/education-facilitator-mid-north-island-based-in-kirikiriroa-hamilton-or-tauranga/

Mission Heights Primary School has started the year with students exploring the different herbs found in their māra (gardens). They made herbed butter to go with bread and rice crackers as an afternoon snack. Tamariki are having a great time harvesting summer produce too.