STEPHANIE ALEXANDER KITCHEN GARDEN FOUNDATION EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH SAPUTO DAIRY AUSTRALIA

8 February 2024

Key facts

● As the 2024 school calendar year kicks off, Saputo Dairy Australia (SDA) has renewed its partnership with the Foundation.

● The Foundation supports education facilities nationally to deliver more than 3 million kitchen garden experiences for students each year.

● More than 1 million children, their families and broader communities have benefitted from education in food nutrition since the Foundation was established.

● The Foundation’s impactful Kitchen Garden Program runs in more than 1,000 schools and early childhood services across Australia.

As students across the country return to school, Saputo Dairy Australia (SDA) has renewed its funding partnership with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, to continue their mutual priority to build healthy, resilient Australians and communities. SDA has contributed almost $1,000,000 to the Foundation since 2019.

The continuation of the partnership for a further two years means the Foundation can allocate 100% of funds to continue the impactful work of its world-recognised Kitchen Garden Program, founded by Stephanie Alexander AO. The Program is led by the Foundation’s expert training team, which delivers practical, fun and flexible professional development sessions that establish food literacy skills in students and the role of nutritious foods from garden to plate. This renewed partnership will go on to benefit children and young people, their schools and services, families and surrounding communities.

“Investing in the capacity of the Foundation enables us to reach more schools and early childhood services right across the country. Partnerships such as this, are vitally important for the longevity of the Kitchen Garden Program, and our growing community place-based projects. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary this year, we are proud to continue having Saputo Dairy Australia as part of our kitchen garden family.” Dr Cathy Wilkinson, CEO of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.

“Since 2019, our partnership with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation has helped to deliver practical food education to children around the country. Together, we are promoting healthy lifestyle habits through responsible food and nutrition choices and we are excited to join the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation for another two years.” Gerard Lourey, Saputo Dairy Australia Operations Director.

The Foundation supports SDA’s dairy advocacy by providing nutritional information about dairy as part of a balanced diet, while promoting significant dairy events and producing free educational resources to our engaged audience of school communities and families across Australia.

Volunteers from the SDA team have recently rolled up their sleeves and engaged in Kitchen Garden Programs at three schools across Tasmania and regional Victoria, with planning underway for further visits. After witnessing the magic of a Kitchen Garden Program in action, SDA staff showed these students how delicious and nutritious dairy can be, by preparing and sharing a dairy-inspired lunch.