The HEAL Project

Our Mission and Vision

Modern life is serving up a profoundly bad diet for our kids. 

Processed foods engineered for addiction, the dopamine soup of technology and screens, and an all-you-can-eat buffet of social and environmental challenges are resulting in a deep disconnection with food, health, and nature. Our programs are a refuge from that world; a chance for kids to reconnect with the things that nourish them.

We see food and how it’s grown as central to the health of individuals, communities, and our planet. That’s why, for 20 years, we have embraced a deceptively simple mission: to teach kids where their food comes from and why it matters.

Connecting with food and where it comes from means connecting not only with nutrition, but also with the environment, natural cycles, our community, and our roots. (literally and figuratively!) 

The food we eat, time spent in nature, and a deepened sense of connection and belonging all have remarkable benefits not just for our physical health, but our mental, environmental, and social health as well. 

Who knew food could be so powerful?

Our Work

Through hands-on, nature-based programs at nine school gardens and our two-acre educational farm in El Granada, we offer kids an opportunity to reconnect with the things that nourish them: their food, their planet, and each other.  We started as a school garden program at Hatch Elementary over 20 years ago, but we've grown to serve over 5,000 students each year across San Mateo County.  Through garden classes, field trips, and camps, we inspire kids' natural curiosity and cultivate health, environmental, and agricultural literacy (HEAL) in the next generation.  You can learn more about our roster of programs on our website. 

What We Do

Our Coastside Gives 2026 Campaign 

Our Farm and Gardens Support Multiple Impacts Across the Coastside 

Yes, The HEAL Project is garden class, but it is also so much more.  When you donate to The HEAL Project, you're supporting:

• Eye opening (and delicious!) educational experiences for local kids
• Produce donations to the local community
• Carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture
• Pollinator habitat
• Local food sovereignty
• And more!

Thanks to our generous anchor donors, every donation up to $20,000 is matched! 

We can't reach our goal without you.  Help us grow! 

🍓$50 puts a row of turnips in the ground- an all time favorite for our students!

🍓$100 allows us to purchase seeds and starts for one semester of school garden class at one school

🍓$300 provides fresh, local produce for 100 meals to those in need through our community partners

🍓$750 gifts five students a full year of garden class

🍓$100 adopts the farm for a day - all the kids, all the programs, all the produce, and all the impact!

Join Us on the Farm

Our work is not possible without the hard work of hundreds of volunteers.  We'd love to have you join us!  Click for more information about our volunteer opportunities, community events, and custom programs.

Volunteer Info