School gardens offer opportunities for fun and physical activity while also serving as an important educational tool to help students understand how healthy food is produced and where their food comes from. Some research suggests that, when used as part of a nutrition education strategy, school gardens can increase knowledge of fruits and vegetables and influence behavior change among children.

• Plant an indoor or outdoor fruit, vegetable or herb garden that students are responsible for tending to and growing. Enjoy the "fruits" of your labor at harvest time!
• If resources are an issue, help students develop a partnership with local businesses, parents or other community groups such as the USDA Cooperative Extension Service. Many communities have “master gardener” programs that could help.
• Incorporate school gardens into classroom lessons (e.g., science, cooking) to provide students with hands-on, multi-disciplinary learning activities. Food service staff can make students more familiar with the school garden produce through taste tests and learning food preparation techniques for a healthy meal.
• Schools can further make the link between agriculture and nutritious food by inviting local farmers’ markets to operate from area school yards.