Support Funding for K–12 School Garden-Based Education: Sign On to the $25M Budget Request Letter of Support by April 3

2026–27 School Garden Advocacy

$25 Million Budget Request & Legislative Update

Last updated: 3-20-2026

The California School Garden Coalition is advancing a two-part advocacy strategy to expand and sustainably fund school garden education across the state

We are asking organizations and individuals that support school garden education to help us during this critical budget window. Here's how:

Review updates from our March 18 Coalition Meeting to get the full strategy and tools
Register to join Advocacy Day April 9–10 in Sacramento to meet with legislators
Showcase your support by signing on to the letter of support by April 3.
Share this page with your networks to rally support!

Sign On to the Letter of Support by April 3

What's Happening?

The CA School Garden Coalition, building on the bipartisan success of SB 341 (Pérez, 2025), which earned the support of 135+ organizations and unanimous, bipartisan committee approvals, is now pursuing two complementary efforts to deliver real funding and structural reform for school garden education in California.

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra), Chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education, is championing a $25M budget request for K–12 garden-based education through CDFA's Farm to School Program. Separately, the Coalition Leadership Team is working with the Senate Agriculture Committee a bill to direct the old, unfunded Instructional School Garden Program to CDFA's Office of Farm to Fork, where the Farm to School program is already successfully funding school garden education.

What the $25M Budget Request Would Do

The $25M one-time budget request would:

Fund garden-based instruction for an additional ~500,000 students through CDFA's Farm to School Program
Prioritize underserved communities that currently lack access to school garden programming, addressing the stark inequity where 72% of programs are concentrated in wealthier districts
Respond to the loss of federal nutrition education funding; California faces the loss of approximately $132 million annually in SNAP-Ed funding (CalFresh Healthy Living) as a result of HR 1
Support California's climate, health, and workforce goals through a single, proven, cost-effective program, at roughly $50 per student per year
Activate existing school garden infrastructure for standards-aligned nutrition, science, and career technical education, not building new programs from scratch

What the Bill Would Do

The Senate Agriculture Committee is working on legislation to:

Direct the unused, unfunded Instructional School Garden Program (ISGP) to CDFA's Office of Farm to Fork, where the Farm to School Program is already funding school garden education
Clean up existing code by removing redundancies and aligning an outdated, unfunded program with the agency actively doing this work

Anticipated bill number and additional details will be shared as they become available.

Why Now?

California's students need garden-based education now more than ever. Multiple converging challenges create an urgent window for investment:

Opportunity for California to Lead

Federal nutrition education funding is disappearing. California faces the loss of approximately $132 million annually in federal SNAP-Ed nutrition education funding as a result of HR 1. Garden-based education delivers the same critical nutrition instruction that communities are losing.
Federal policy is pushing more pesticides. A recent executive order is expanding glyphosate-based herbicide production. Teaching students where their food comes from and how to grow it safely has never been more important.
The 2026-27 Farm to School Program budget decreased. The governor's budget allocates $20 million for this program, even though it received $60 million previously.
Aligned funding opportunities. The state budget projects a Prop 98 surplus, and Prop 98 funding has gone to the Farm to School Program in previous years for education. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund also has $1 billion of discretionary funding that aligns with school garden education.

Infrastructure & Impact

Existing infrastructure is going unused. Although 50% of California schools have garden infrastructure, only approximately 9% use these gardens for ongoing learning programs. California previously allocated $15 million in school garden infrastructure via the Instructional School Garden Program. The $25M requested here could activate many of those gardens for instruction.
Access is deeply inequitable. Currently, 72% of school garden programs are concentrated in wealthier districts that rely on private fundraising, leaving low-income communities without equitable access.
Research consistently shows school gardens work. Students participating in garden-based education are 3x more likely to eat fruits and vegetables. Garden education improves science scores and attendance, reduces anxiety and builds resilience, supports social-emotional learning, creates green career pathways, and advances climate goals. Students in experiential environmental education programs make choices resulting in a 30% smaller carbon footprint. Scaled programs reduce carbon emissions on par with rooftop solar or electric vehicles. See Annotated Bibliography for more studies and resources.

2026 Budget & Legislative Timeline

Both the anticipated bill and the $25M budget request will follow the Senate Budget Committee calendars

Phase 1: Winter

Legislator outreach
Budget champion secured (Sen. Pérez)
Budget request letter submitted
Introduce spot bill

Phase 2: Early Spring

Budget subcommittee hearings start
Advocacy Day (April 9–10)
Public testimony

Phase 3: Late Spring

Governor's May Revision
Budget subcommittee hearings continue
Floor votes
Final budget negotiations

Phase 4: Summer & Fall

Budget finalized & adopted

Key Dates:

Now through May 2026: Senate Budget Subcommittee hearings. This is where the $25M request is heard and where public testimony matters. We will update you as hearings are scheduled.
March 18, 2026: Coalition Meeting. Review meeting resources, including the meeting notes, slides, & the recording, here.
April 3, 2026: Deadline to showcase your support by signing on to the letter of support.
April 9–10, 2026: School Garden Advocacy Day in Sacramento.
May 14, 2026: Governor's May Revision with updated revenue projections.
June 15, 2026: Constitutional deadline for the Legislature to pass the budget.
July 1, 2026: New fiscal year begins.
July 1, 2027: Funds would be allocated to CDFA.

We are in the critical window right now. We’ll share details about how you can contact your legislators, especially members of the Senate Budget Committee and Assembly Budget Committee, to voice support.

Champions

$25M Budget Request Champion

Bill Champion

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez

(D-Alhambra) Chair, Senate Education Committee Chair, Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education Member, Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee

Sen. Pérez has been a champion for school garden education since authoring SB 341 in 2025, which earned bipartisan support and laid the groundwork for this budget request.

Senator Anna Caballero

(D-Merced) Chair, Senate Agriculture Committee on behalf of the Senate Agriculture Committee

Sen. Caballero, as Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is working with the coalition leadership team on legislation to align the state's school garden programs under the agency currently funding this work. The Agriculture Committee is organizing to introduce a bill to direct the unused Instructional School Garden Program to CDFA's Office of Farm to Fork.

Key Resources

$25M Budget Request Overview

Budget Request Letter

3-18 SGC Coalition Meeting Resources

Communications Toolkit

How You Can Help

Review updates from our March 18 Coalition Meeting to get the full advocacy strategy, talking points, and tools.
Join Advocacy Day. Come to Sacramento April 9–10 to meet with legislators at the Capitol. Can't attend? We will share details to help you arrange district office meetings.
- Contact: Anna Jackson.
Sponsor Advocacy Day. Help us fund this 2-day event.
- Sponsorship tiers: Heirloom ($1,000) | Pollinator ($500) | Seedling ($250). Contact the leadership team to sponsor. Contact: Vicki Moore
Sign on to a letter of support by April 3.
Let us know if your legislators are on a key committee. If any of the following legislators represent you, and you would be willing to participate in advocacy with their office, whether by sending an email or joining a meeting with staff, please contact the leadership team so we can coordinate. Find your California representatives here.
- 1. Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil
  2. Senator Bob Archuleta
  3. Senator Anna Caballero
  4. Senator Christopher Cabaldon
  5. Senator Steven "Steve" Choi
  6. Senator Maria Elena Durazo
  7. Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes
  8. Senator Shannon Grove
  9. Senator Melissa Hurtado
  10. Senator John Laird (Chair)
  11. Senator Pro Tem Monique Limon
  12. Senator Jerry McNerney
  13. Senator Caroline Menjivar
  14. Senator Roger Niello (Vice Chair)
  15. Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
  16. Senator Sasha Renée Pérez
  17. Senator Laura Richardson
  18. Senator Kelly Seyarto
  19. Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
  20. Senator Akilah Weber Pierson
  21. Assemblymember David Alvarez
  22. Assemblymember Mike Fong
  23. Assemblymember Heather Hadwick
  24. Assemblymember Darshana Patel
  25. Assemblymember Greg Wallis

Also let us know if you have a connection with the Governor's Office, which ultimately finalizes the budget.

We'll provide guidance so you can contact your legislators who are on budget committees. Let them know you support the $25M budget request for school garden education. We'll provide talking points and tools at the March 18 meeting.
Funding. The leadership team has been operating with a very lean budget and is excited to have reached this legislative milestone. We need your help to ensure both pieces of legislation pass. We invite you to reach out to a close funder and highlight the impact that $25M for school garden programming could have for your organization.
Spread the word. Share this page and our Communications Toolkit with your network. Encourage them to sign on to the letter of support, join Advocacy Day, and join our contact list for updates.
Join the leadership team. We're seeking members who can regularly reach out to school garden organizations in their regions. Learn what this means
- Contact: Vicki Moore

Visit our Get Involved page for the full menu of partnership opportunities, including financial contributions, staff time, practice profiles, and more.

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