As a keen gardener and part-time teacher, Anne Kelly is ideally placed to comment.
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"I think it's the best thing we've ever done ... seriously, every school should do it. I can't think of a single negative."
She was talking about the decision of Telarah Public School a couple of years back to join the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.
It's described as "pleasurable food education teaching Australian children positive food habits through fun, hands-on learning".
Anne Kelly couldn't agree more.
And what it means directly to Maitland shoppers when the Slow Food Earth Market picks up again on Thursday morning in The Levee after an enforced COVID-19 lay-off, is that there will be a whole bunch of deliciously fresh herbs straight from the Telarah school garden beds to tempt you.
All profits go back into buying seeds and whatever else is necessary to keep the garden program flowing.
'We don't make a lot, maybe $30 or $40 a fortnight, but it keeps us in seeds so that we can replant our garden beds," Ms Kelly said.
Related content: Slow Food Earth market returns to The Levee
"We gets lots of feedback from parents saying the kids are willing to try more foods, are generally eating healthier, and are more willing to help in the kitchen."
The school pre-COVID had three garden classes per week of about 30 children each, on Thursday and Friday, for Year 3, 4 and 5 students - "basically eight to 10-year-olds".
They were divided into five groups, each with one teacher and a parent.
"We are very keen to get the parents involved too, because we want the lessons learned here to translate into the homes.
"Before each class I will look at what's available in the garden, and go through it with our Assistant Principal Phil Debenham, who's a keen cook, and we'll work out a menu of five dishes that will highlight what we have growing.
"Then we'll spend 30 minutes in the garden with the students doing basic garden work. It might be watering, or weeding, occasionally a bit of mulching. We want the students to get a hands-on understanding of what goes in to maintaining a garden.
"Then when that is done, we'll harvest some of our produce, and we'll sit down - all of us, students, teachers and parents - and we'll share a meal. We'll print out our recipes so that the kids can take them home with them.
"We're hearing that they're keen to get into the kitchen themselves and help reproduce the meal which is really rewarding for us."
The establishment of the garden has been a clear winner since they signed up to the Stephanie Alexander program in 2014. Ms Kelly believes there are about 2000 schools taking part in the program these days.
Ms Kelly says the garden is flourishing and waiting for the students to return to normal classes.
"And on a personal level, I downsized not all that long ago. I used to have a very large garden, but not any more. So this gives me the opportunity to keep my hand in, do a bit of additional watering if needed or whatever."
The Slow Food Earth Market tomorrow will be in The Levee from 8.30am to 1pm.