Evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program

• Lisa Gibbs, and others
• Kitchen Garden Foundation

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Nunawading PS students

15 June 2010

An evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program has been undertaken by a joint research team from the Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing & Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University and The McCaughey Centre: Vichealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, University of Melbourne.

The evaluation findings are extremely positive. One of the clearest findings is that the Kitchen Garden Program is encouraging positive health-behaviour change in participating children. The evaluation also highlights the transfer of Program benefits to the home and the broader community.

The research team:

• Dr Lisa Gibbs (Principal Investigator); The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne (formerly of Deakin University)




• Professor Petra Staiger (Investigator); School of Psychology, Deakin University




• Professor Mardie Townsend (Invetsigator); School of Health & Social Development, Deakin University




• Macfarlane (Investigator); School of Psychology, Deakin University




• Block (Research Fellow); The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne




• Gold (Health Economics Advisor); Deakin Health Economics, Deakin University




• Johnson (Research Fellow); The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne




• Long (Research Fellow); School of Psychology, Deakin University




• Kulas (Research Assistant); The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne




• Chukwunyere (Statistical Advisor); Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit (CERBU), The Royal Children's Hospital




• Elizabeth Walters (advisory Support); The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne

The methodology used to evaluate the Kitchen Garden Program consisted of a longitudinal design utilising a mixed methods approach. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data was collected from six participating schools and six comparison schools over a two-and-a-half-year period, to assess change over time. This measured process, impact and outcome indicators to assess the feasibility of the Program, how the Program is experienced by participants, whether changes have occurred and thus whether the aims have been achieved.

Image: Nunawading Primary School Students eat the food they grow and cook