Our mission is to teach kids where their food comes from and why it matters.
We believe that everyone should have access to quality food systems education. We see food and how it's grown as central to the health of the individual and the planet.
We envision a world where everyone understands the connection between our food, our health and our environment.
Each year we serve over 3,000 students with hands-on outdoor learning opportunities that inspire kids' natural curiosity and cultivate environmental awareness in the next generation. The HEAL Project offers lessons on health, environment and agriculture at school sites, in the classroom and at the San Mateo County School Farm. We enhance Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards in our high-impact programs for environmental literacy and nutrition education.
“Every child in San Mateo County should get to eat something they themselves planted. When this happens in a school garden it has a positive impact on academic achievement, health and the environment.””
Theory of Change
The HEAL Project’s Theory of Change describes our philosophy and defines the long-term impact of our work, providing a blueprint for the changes that occur through our programs. THP’s Theory of Change was developed in 2018 and finalized in 2019 thanks to generous funding from the Sand Hill Foundation.
Our Education Philosophy
At The HEAL Project, we believe that agriculture-based education is a valuable tool to help students connect with their place in the environment. All participants in our farm and garden programs see science, art and math concepts come alive through interactive activities. Student participants are encouraged to find wonder in nature and to nurture that wonder beyond their time with us. By promoting students’ self-sufficiency and skill-building, we hope to foster students’ connection between food, health and the environment in order to grow the next generation of environmentalists, scientists, sustainable farmers and change-makers.
All program participants have the opportunity to “dig their hands in” and contribute to the well-being of the soil, plants and animals on and around the farm and gardens. Our teaching practices encourage students to understand the link between the health of our local environment and their own health. We do this by demonstrating how food is grown and how we then use that food to nurture ourselves.
Though available to all grades, our biggest impact is through programs for elementary-aged students at the San Mateo County School Farm. We strive to be culturally relevant, age-appropriate, accessible and fun. We offer programming to all students in San Mateo County through free or low-cost farm field trips.
Our educational philosophy encourages wonder and builds connections between students, the natural world and the food system.
Our Farming Philosophy
At the San Mateo County School Farm, The HEAL Project strives for sustainable farming practices that reflect our desire for farms to be community hubs, wildlife habitat and vibrant sources of food and fiber for the local community.
What this looks like in terms of cultivation practices is:
NO BIOCIDES: ie pesticide, herbicide, fungicide. To protect the health of residents, visitors and customers and fulfill our goal of creating habitat for critters of all sizes, we pledge not to use chemicals that kill, harm or repel living things. Instead of a “pest-negative” approach to pest management, we take a “plant-positive” approach. This means that we take care to create healthy soil so we have vigorous crops. We also choose appropriate species, cultivars and seasons to plant.
MAINTAINING SOIL COVER: Soil is the heart of our farm. We aim to keep growing plants and/or mulch on as much of our soil as possible at all times in order to feed the soil food web and help our soil store carbon and stay healthy.
MINIMIZE SOIL DISTURBANCE: Similar to the above cultivation practice, we seek to avoid mechanical disturbance of the soil to the greatest extent possible. This means reducing our reliance on plowing and rototilling soil in the interest of building soil organic matter, all while reducing our diesel usage.
FARMS AS WHOLE ECOSYSTEMS: Different areas on our farm perform different ecological functions that support each other. For example, perennial crops, annual row crops, rainwater catchment, bioswale and pollinator areas all enhance the functions of one another.
Our farming philosophy encourages natural systems to do what they are designed to do with minimal inputs and to sequester carbon to help reverse the effects of climate change.
Check out these links for more information:
Our Food Philosophy
The HEAL Project believes that food is a profound way to bring people together and build community. The health of our bodies, communities and environment intersect on our plates as well as in our homes, farms, gardens and beyond. Our agriculture-based curriculum encourages children to develop the skills and knowledge tools to make healthy food choices for themselves and their world. Children plant and harvest food in our programs, which enables them to experience not only how food benefits their health, but also how good it can taste.
We believe that healthy food is minimally processed, locally grown and seasonally consumed using sustainable farming methods (see Farming Philosophy above). Research shows that children who consume a variety of whole foods have improved memories and cognitive and physical development, as well as sustained energy levels. Eating a nourishing diet reduces the risk of the chronic diseases that plague our modern society.
Our food philosophy encourages the nourishment of students’ bodies, minds and spirits while forging community connections through the sharing of wholesome, delicious food.
See these links for more information:
Heath and Academic Achievement
What should be taught in secondary schools’ nutrition and food systems education?
Nutritional Quality of Organic, Conventional, and Seasonally Grown Broccoli
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Our Solidarity with Black Lives Matter, Indigenous People and the LatinX Community:
We at The HEAL Project stand unequivocally with the movements for Black liberation. We recognize that hundreds of years of systemic racism have caused almost incomprehensible amounts of harm, both seen and unseen, to Black Americans.
As an organization dedicated to food systems education, we sit with the acknowledgement that our agricultural system was built on stolen land, labor, skills and knowledge from Black, Indigenous, and LatinX communities. Throughout the lifespan of our country, racism, oppression and white supremacist policies have overtly cut off Black, Indigenous and LatinX people from opportunities to own land and maintain control over the agricultural practices and food sources that serve them. This lack of access to personal and cultural sovereignty has fostered widening disparities in health outcomes and economic freedoms. We see these racial injustices right here on the San Mateo County coast, especially with regards to our LatinX community.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
We are grappling with our organization’s place in systemic racism and the actions we can take to practice anti-racism. We realize that this work is broad and long-term, and we are committed to this work on an ongoing basis.
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work-group of staff and board members is focused on making anti-racism part of our strategic plan. Since 2020, we have been focused in the following areas:
We sought outside help in our effort to apply a critical equity and inclusion lens to our organization, not only to our programming, but also to dynamics created by our internal structures. The HEAL Project received support from Justice Outside in 2022 to provide this technical assistance through multiple strategies including an organizational assessment, facilitation, and training for board and staff.
We incorporated new culturally meaningful content into our garden and farm curriculum.
We trained staff on the history of the local Ramaytush Ohlone people, improving our understanding of sustainable land management techniques and the use of native plants for food, housing, cultural rituals, and more.
We partnered with local Ramaytush Ohlone Chapter to develop Land Acknowledgement Signs. We installed the signs at The San Mateo County School Farm and all seven of the Cabrillo Unified School District’s school sites.
We hired Spanish-speaking staff and began publishing our monthly electronic newsletter in English and Spanish.
We increased food donation to individuals and organizations on the coast.
We are making progress strengthening relationships with the community we serve to amplify marginalized voices through proactive outreach.
Moving forward, our goals include the following:
Continue to enhance our lessons and communications to be more culturally inclusive
Increase our outreach to socioeconomically disadvantaged groups/communities
Engage Coastal community organizations to identify opportunities for partnership
Establish approaches to improve internal organizational sustainability such as improving diversity of staff and board members, raising wages, and further embedding a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equity
We are committed to setting aside time and resources to meet these goals. As we move forward with this work, we will continue to identify areas of potential improvement in our equity practices and set goals to pinpoint these areas.
What We've Achieved
Over fifteen years ago The HEAL Project was created with the mission of teaching students to make healthy choices for themselves and their world. We started with the garden at Hatch Elementary and have since grown into something more far reaching and impactful. Here are a few accomplishments we are most proud of from the past decade and a half:
Started the San Mateo School Farm in 2010, a 2-acre educational farm that provides hands-on learning opportunities to students across San Mateo County, regardless of income
After participating in THP programming, 79% of students reported they enjoy trying new fruits and vegetables
Taught and graduated 2,989 2nd/3rd grade students in our Intensive Garden Program at Coastside Schools
Provided over 13,000 students the opportunity to learn firsthand where their food comes from and why it matters through our farm field trip program at SMC Farm
“The earth comes alive for my daughter. Alice comes home excited about how things grow in the ground and use sun and water to live. She now understands the connection between food and the place from which it comes.””
Do you think every child deserves a meaningful experience in the garden?
Your $10 donation will help us purchase seeds for students to grow in the garden. Please consider donating today to bring food education to life for the next generation.