The Medibank Community Fund (MCF) has awarded a $20,000 community grant to Yankalilla Area School in Yankalilla, South Australia.
The grant will fund an Edible Kitchen Garden program which promotes organic gardening methods, sustainability, healthy eating and physical activity to 210 primary school students.
The program will focus on creating a sustainable, healthy environment with an emphasis on working together to grow, harvest, cook and share healthy meals with their classmates.
Medibank Retail State Manager for SA, NT and TAS, Sophie Scott-Young said the program embraced the Medibank Community Fund's priorities of promoting healthy eating, physical activity and greater community connectedness -the key selection criteria for the MCF grants program.
"Medibank employees on our Regional Council from across South Australia, expressed overwhelming support for the Yankalilla Area School's application because their program takes a preventative and proactive approach to childhood health by giving students the opportunity to learn vital cooking and gardening skills for a healthy and fulfilling life", said Ms Scott-Young.
"The Medibank Community Fund grants program supports local, grassroots initiatives that aim to create a lasting and positive impact on the mental and physical wellbeing of people in the community and Yankalilla Area School and its Edible Kitchen Garden program are doing just that".
The program will also provide students with the skills to make healthier food choices, and teaches skills associated with recycling, sustainable living, plant science, Indigenous foods and culture, community service and enterprise education.
Yankalilla Area School is one of 42 recipients chosen from more than 900 applications across Australian and New Zealand to receive a 2014 Medibank Community Fund grant.
Amelia Detmar, Edible Kitchen Garden Teacher at Yankalilla Area School said she "is overwhelmed by the generosity of Medibank" and thought it was "unlikely that her application would be one of the few recipients to receive funding, let alone $20,000".
"Our MCF grant will benefit the students and the community in so many ways and we are so grateful to Medibank for seeing the value in reaching out to communities", said Mrs Detmar.
The program she currently runs has already enthused students to eat healthier, enjoy being in the outdoors and grow their own vegetables at home.
"It is so wonderful to see the excitement in students when eating their own grown carrots. They are also trying vegetables which they've never even heard of and students are asking their parents to start their own vegetable gardens at home. It's fantastic that students want to spend quality time with their families growing, harvesting and cooking.
"By including kitchen garden programs in the school curriculum we are not only promoting life-long healthy eating habits at a primary level but encouraging students to take responsibility of their own health and look after their overall physical and mental wellbeing."
MCF awarded Yankalilla Area School with their $20,000 community grant at an official event with all the 2014 South Australian grant recipients at Alberton Oval on Tuesday June 3.