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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
appropriation; schools; community gardens
Purpose
Appropriates $500,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2027 to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to award grants to school districts and charter schools to build community gardens.
Background
The Department of Health Services (DHS) School Garden Program offers free certification for school and community gardens to ensure school grown produce is safe to eat and ready to serve. The certification process includes: 1) a site visit; 2) submission of soil samples; and 3) the composition of a food safety plan (DHS).
DHS provides a guidance document, developed in conjunction with ADE, the Arizona Department of Agriculture, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, for schools with recommended standards for on-site gardens. The document includes recommendations relating to school administrator responsibilities and the harvesting of produce (DHS).
S.B. 1598 appropriates $500,000 from the state GF in FY 2027 to ADE.
Provisions
1. Appropriates $500,000 from the state GF in FY 2027 to ADE to award grants to school districts and charter schools to build community gardens.
2. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 6, 2026
MH/KP/hk