Winning School to Receive $3,000 Grant: Ministry of Education

As part of the United Nations World Food Programme, a competition titled "Best School Mini Garden in Armenia" will be held in collaboration with the Russian Branch Institute of Food and with the participation of the Agency for School Food and Children's Welfare. This initiative is designed for public schools in the Republic of Armenia, as reported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Republic of Armenia.

“The long-term goal of the competitive program is to raise awareness regarding the School Food Program and to promote the establishment of school gardens at the national level. The short-term goals of the program are:

• to attract the attention of policymakers to the importance of school gardens and the issue of selling school-produced products,
• to promote the school food program,
• to develop the educational component of school gardens.

Participants in the competition are expected to provide a project proposal for the "Mini Garden" program, which will be implemented with elementary school students. The project package should include:

1. photos of the garden, a brief history of the establishment of the garden (in the case of existing gardens), and an explanation of the selected crops for planting,
2. an interdisciplinary teaching plan and emphasized courses,
3. photos documenting the children's participation in all stages of the garden's establishment and care,
4. photos of the harvested produce,
5. photos of simple and healthy dishes prepared by the children,
6. a brief essay written by the children on the topic “How We Use Our Grown Produce in School Food,”
7. short videos (edited video clips) are encouraged and will be viewed as an advantage in the selection process.

The competition will take place in two phases. Phase 1: Schools must submit a contest participation application (Appendix 1). The deadline for submitting participation applications is May 1, 2021. Phase 2: Schools must submit the complete project package. The deadline for submitting project packages is October 1, 2021. A selection committee of six members will evaluate the submitted project packages and announce the winners by November 1, 2021.

The winning school will receive a grant of $3,000 (three thousand US dollars) to establish a larger garden or to increase school production. Schools that place second and third will receive valuable prizes (a fruit and vegetable dehydrator, a refrigerator for food preservation).

Details of the competition are included in the attached package,” the statement said.