Collective Roots Receives Largest Grant in Program History; Bon Appetit Management Company Awards $50,000 to Bay Area Non Profit to Support School Garden Project and Community Food Security.

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Collective Roots Garden Project (CRGP) announced that Palo Alto-based food service company Bon Appetit Management Company has awarded them a $50,000 grant -- the largest donation ever received by Collective Roots.

Based in East Palo Alto, the non-profit Collective Roots teaches students about environmental science and nutrition through garden-based activities and in-class exercises.

Bon Appetit's corporate gift is a tradition started in 2001, and was designed to support non-profit, community-based organizations which are committed to developing and educating about healthy foods, environmental stewardship and sustainable development.

"Collective Roots' work teaching young people about the importance of fresh, natural food is in complete harmony with our dream of sustainable food services for all communities," said Bon Appetit Management Company CEO Fedele Bauccio. "We were especially impressed with how well they have integrated their garden into the curriculum of the East Palo Alto Charter School."

"With this grant we are now able to provide children access to additional organic fruits and vegetables that they might not receive at home," said Holly Taylor, Community Outreach Director of the Collective Roots Garden Project. "We will accomplish this goal by increasing the productivity of our edible garden and developing partnerships with area markets and growers.

CRGP's projects include building an outdoor kitchen to provide learning opportunities for the students, families, and community, and they are evaluating sponsoring a weekly "farmer's market" to provide even greater food access to local families.

"This organization was founded by educators who wanted to create a replicable model of a garden learning that educated students in under-resourced schools about environmental stewardship and nutrition," added Taylor. "We want to develop a cadre of young urban leaders who understand where their food comes from and how their actions impact human and environmental health."

The CRGP program is based at East Palo Alto Charter School (EPACS) where 400 students and families are learning the links between human and environmental health through the cultivation of a school-based organic garden. CRGP has developed a unique approach to integrating environmental science and nutrition into the core curricula for kindergarten through eighth grade students. The organization plans additional outreach through the local farmer's market and additional nutrition and organic gardening programming.

Previous recipients of Bon Appetit annual grant include the East New York Farm! in Brooklyn, a project which promotes local and regional sustainable agriculture and community-based development.