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Children and young people are more likely to achieve their learning potential when they have access to adequate and healthy food. Food secure school and preschool communities help children and young people to:
- have practical experiences in planting, tending and harvesting food
- access healthy food and foster healthy eating habits
- support their physical health and social, cultural and emotional wellbeing.
We provide funding for initiatives that build the capacity of schools and preschools to create a food secure community for children and their families.
2026 funding – successful applications
In 2026, South Australian government schools and preschools could apply for 2 different types of grants designed to help their community learn about growing, accessing, and preparing healthy food.
Growing Food Grant up to $2000
Congratulations to the 67 successful applicants who will share in $90,000 worth of funding for grants that contribute towards creating, maintaining, or expanding gardens that grow food.
Growing food grant recipients 2026
- Adams Road Children's Centre
- Ardrossan Area School
- Athelstone Preschool
- Balaklava High School
- Banksia Park Kindergarten
- Barmera Primary School
- Brahma Lodge Primary School
- Brompton Primary School
- Burra Early Learning Centre
- Ceduna Area School
- Challa Gardens Primary School
- East Torrens Primary School
- Elizabeth East Primary School
- Elizabeth North Primary School
- Elizabeth O'Grady Kindergarten
- Enfield Primary School
- Flagstaff Hill Kindergarten
- Flinders View Child Parent Centre
- Flinders View Primary School
- Fraser Park Primary School
- Fregon Anangu School
- Glandore Community Kindergarten
- Hackham East Primary School
- Hackham West School
- Hawker Childhood Services Centre
- Hendon Primary School
- Ingle Farm East Primary School
- John Hartley School B-6
- Kadina Memorial School
- Kalaya Children's Centre
- Keller Road Primary School
- Lantana Kindergarten
- Loxton Primary School
- Madge Sexton Kindergarten
- McKay Children's Centre
- Meningie Preschool
- Michelle DeGaris Memorial Kgtn
- Morphett Vale East School
- Morphett Vale Primary School
- Morphett Vale Primary Sch-Preschool
- Murray Bridge High School
- Nangwarry Primary School
- Netherby Kindergarten
- Ocean View P-12 College
- Oodnadatta Aboriginal School
- Parafield Gardens High School
- Parafield Gardens Primary School
- Peterborough High School
- Peterborough Primary School
- Port Lincoln Primary School
- Prospect North Primary School
- Renmark North School
- Reynella South Primary School
- Risdon Park Primary School
- Riverdale Primary School
- Riverton Kindergarten
- Robertstown Primary School
- Seaford Secondary College
- St Helen's Park Kindergarten
- Stansbury primary School
- Trott Park Kindergarten
- Westport Preschool
- Willsden Childhood Services Centre
- Wilmington Primary School
- Wiltja Boarding
- Woodville High School
- Yahl Primary School
Food Security Grant up to $8000
Congratulations to the 38 successful applicants who will share in over $200,000 worth of funding for projects that build capacity of schools and preschools to create food secure environments for children and young people and their families.
Funding is for projects that create or enhance:
- access to healthy food and foster health eating habits
- skills and knowledge in healthy food preparation
- lasting benefits for children and young people’s health and wellbeing.
Food security grant recipients 2026
School or preschool | Project name |
|---|---|
Agnes Goode Kindergarten Inc | Fresh food explorers |
Alberton Primary School | From Garden to Community: Closing the circle at Alberton Primary School |
Central Yorke School – Point Pearce | Community Cooking for Kids |
Christie Downs Primary School | 'Kids In The Kitchen' |
Coober Pedy Area School | Purchase of equipment for Low Cost canteen meals |
Elizabeth Downs Primary School | Connection CAFE & update cooking equipment |
Eudunda Area School | Pantry for families and Breakfast club upgrades |
Flinders Children's Centre | Community Cooking Workshops and Family Recipe Book |
Ingle Farm Primary School | Ingle Farm Breakfast Club |
John Pirie Secondary School | Recess Club |
Kapunda High School | Breakfast/Lunch Club Freezer |
Keithcot Farm Children's Centre | The Shared Table Project |
Kirton Point Primary School | From Garden to Plate: A School and Community Food Security Initiative |
Lake Windemere B-6 Children's Centre | Fun with Food |
Melaleuca Park Primary School | Kids in the kitchen |
Meningie Area School | Connecting families with healthy lunches |
Millicent North Primary School | Creating a Culture Kitchen |
Mount Gambier Children's Centre | Cook Once, Eat all Week |
Mount Gambier High School | The Independent Kitchen |
Mount Pleasant & District Kgtn | Bread rolls on a Tuesday |
Mulga Street Primary School | Cooking Together, Growing Together |
Munno Para Kindergarten | Little Chefs, Big Healthy Habits |
Murray Bridge North School | Fuel for Learning: Building Food Security, Wellbeing and Life Skills |
Murray Bridge South Primary School | Stronger Starts: Building Capacity for Community Breakfast at Murray Bridge South |
Newbery Park Primary School | Newbery Park Community Kitchen: Ending Food Insecurity, Empowering Generations |
Park Terrace Kindergarten | Galinyala Gather and Grow |
Parks Children's Centre | Celebrating and sharing food culture |
Pennington Children's Centre | Our Community Kitchen |
Penong Primary School | Building Food Skills and Food Security at Penong Primary School |
Peterborough Community Preschool | Nourish and Flourish: Community Based Pantry and Child Led Food program |
Pipalyatjara Anangu School | Nutritious Meals Program |
Port Wakefield Primary School | Tucker Box |
Riverland Special School | Bright Bites Collective |
Salisbury East High School | Food security breakfast program expansion |
Salisbury High School | Cultural Inclusion and Student Access |
Tinyeri Children's Centre | Nurture and Nourish Community Pantry |
Willsden Primary School | Ngurra: Country, Culture and Kitchen |
Woodville Gardens School Birth-6 | Cook to Connect – Healthy Lunchbox Ideas |
Who can apply
Applications can be made by:
- school or preschool staff
- governing councils or associated committees
- canteen staff.
Governing councils, committees and canteen staff work with their school or preschool to lodge an application. A government school principal or preschool director must support the application, so working together is the best way to bring your proposal to life.
Priority is given to new and innovative projects and for category 1 to 4 sites and category 1 preschools.
Have a great idea for a project?
You can still have a project even without grant funding.
If you’re a parent, carer or community member and have an idea for a project that could benefit your local school or preschool, we encourage you to speak with your site leaders.
Project activity ideas
Below are some ideas of activities to inspire your project.
Growing food
- Building native bushfood gardens for cultural connection and knowledge sharing. Tools, soil, seeds and plants can be funded.
- Developing local food growing and sharing networks. Promotions and costs of organising can be funded.
- Building community gardens and orchards to grow and prepare fresh, seasonal locally sourced fruit and vegetables and develop social connection. Irrigation, soil, plants and tools can be funded.
- Learning about management of animals and insects, such as chickens and bees. Equipment to care and feed animals and structures can be funded.
- Connecting growing food to culture, curriculum and the environment, such as themed gardening and soil management workshops. Structures and equipment for composting, garden beds and plants can be funded.
- Contribute to staff or community training about developing edible gardens. Registration fees and reading materials can be funded.
Food security projects
- Community cooking workshops – Run hands-on cooking classes for families, students, and staff, focusing on affordable and culturally inclusive healthy recipes. Funds can support facilitation, ingredients and take-home resources.
- Healthy lunchbox program – Provide a series of sessions for parents, carers and students about creating nutritious, budget-friendly lunchboxes, including demonstrations, printed guides, and starter packs with reusable containers.
- Food storage and preparation upgrades – Purchase refrigeration, shelving or portable cooking equipment to improve food storage safety and preparation options for special school community food events.
- Pop-up community food pantry – Set up a small food pantry stocked with healthy staples for families experiencing hardship, supported by partnerships with local businesses and volunteers. Funding can cover initial stock, pantry setup and volunteer training.
- Staff and volunteer upskilling – Provide professional development for staff or community volunteers on supporting food security, planning healthy menus and delivering nutrition education.
- Seasonal cultural cooking events – Host shared food experiences celebrating the diverse cultural backgrounds of the school community, featuring hands-on cooking sessions and shared healthy meals.
- Student-led snack enterprise – Develop a small business project where students prepare and sell healthy food, learning about growing and preparing food, budgeting and food safety. Funds can be used for ingredients, equipment and promotions.
- Breakfast Clubs – Establish or expand a breakfast club, providing healthy morning meals to students in need. Funding could support dedicated storage, serving utensils or equipment. You can access free breakfast food supplies through the department’s breakfast program providers.
