Building a school or community garden is an exciting way to engage the community and promote health and wellness. This page provides resources for starting and maintaining food safer gardens, as well as other resources on management and sustainability. For more resources visit the Community Gardens Portal.

Building Safe Community Gardens

• Food Safety for School and Community Gardens handbook 
• Presentation: Food Safety for School Gardens (Dr. Ben Chapman and Ashley Chaifetz, August 25, 2011)
• USDA Let’s Move! Faith and Communities: Garden Guide (updated April 2011)
• Syracuse Grows Community Garden Resource Directory
• National Recreation and Park Association’s Grow Your Park Initiative
• Mother Earth News Vegetable Garden Planner –  great for helping you plan how for spacing and recordkeeping

GAPs (Good Agricultural Practices) certification

• GAPs
• NC Fresh Produce Safety
• National Good Agricultural Practices Program (Cornell University)
• Student and Food Safety: Best Practices for Hawai’i School Gardens (University of Hawai’i)
• Student and Food Safety: Best Practices for Hawai’i School Gardens – A Supplementary GAPs Checklist (University of Hawai’i)

Supporting and Sustaining Your Garden

• Water Sources and Testing
• Soil Testing
• Handwashing Stations
• Animals and Pests
• Expired Seeds
• Natural Disaster Management
• Funding and Grants