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fruit and vegetable garden with raised beds

Vegetable Gardening in South Dakota

Whatever your reasons to start a vegetable garden: fresh produce with great flavor, exercise, saving money, enticing children (and adults) to eat healthier food, or knowing where your food came from and how it was grown, this booklet will help you with basic information and tips to get started.

abandoned barn surrounded by flood waters. Photo by Jeannie Mooney, FEMA

Flood

View resources to prepare for and recover from flood situations.

Local farm to school team members in a school cafeteria.

Building Your Farm to School Team

Putting together a farm to school team should include a core group of individuals and agencies dedicated to the farm to school mission. View a list of potential team members to help get your team started today!

Dawn Johnson preparing watermelon in a school kitchen.

Benefits of Farm to School and Early Care and Education

Farm to school (F2S) programs have potential to create substantial positive impacts on an array of F2S stakeholders, including kids, schools (foodservice and education), early care and education (ECE) programs, agricultural producers, families and communities. Benefits exist in the areas of public health, economic development, education, environment, equity and community engagement.

variety of fresh vegetables in basket

Ask Our Family, Food and Wellness Experts

If you have a question related to family, food or wellness, our team of experts is ready to help.

South Dakota Farm to School logo

South Dakota Farm to School Resource Guide

South Dakota's resource guide for starting a Farm to School

Children sampling local produce in a school cafeteria.

Funding Your Farm to School Program

Starting or expanding a farm to school program comes with expenses. Learn about the many farm to school funding opportunities available from state, federal, and private/non-profit organizations.

Green plant with wide, oval leaves. Pink florets are arranged in a circle at the top of the stem. An orange Monarch butterfly feeds on nectar from one of the florets.

Investigate Pollinators

Lesson about the importance of pollinators and the plants they interact with.

A variety of fresh fruits and vegetables displayed on a countertop.

Eat What You Grow

Youth will learn the different parts of plants that we eat, and how to use drying and freezing techniques to preserve foods for later use.

Child with potted plants

Getting the Garden Growing

Introductory gardening lesson where youth will learn what plants need to grow and what fruits and vegetables grow in different seasons in South Dakota.