Bashas’ and Food City, in partnership with Captain Planet Foundation, will give three Arizona and New Mexico elementary schools Learning Garden packages valued at up to $7,500 through the 2026 Learning Garden Grant Contest. Applications close Oct. 30.
Selected schools without an existing garden will receive five raised garden beds with soil, a fully equipped Mobile Cooking Cart for preparing garden-fresh recipes, standards-based online garden lessons, professional development and teacher training and strategies for summer garden maintenance. Schools with existing gardens are eligible for improvement packages valued at $5,500, including $4,500 in garden upgrades plus the cooking cart, materials and training.
The initiative, run through parent company The Raley’s Companies, takes STEAM education beyond the traditional classroom, helping children understand where their food comes from while developing healthy eating habits. The grocers cited research and more than 25 years of classroom experience indicating early exposure to fresh produce can increase children’s willingness to try and regularly eat those foods.
How to apply
Eligible schools must be state-accredited elementary schools serving grades K-5, excluding homeschool and online programs, located within 10 miles of an eligible Bashas’, Bashas’ Diné Market or Food City location in Arizona or New Mexico. Applicants must be at least 18 and either an authorized school official or someone associated with the school, such as a teacher or parent, who can obtain an official’s signature.
Schools can apply at captainplanetfoundation.org/contest/raleys, with one entry accepted per school and a signed Learning Gardens Letter of Agreement from the principal required. The deadline is 8:59 p.m. Oct. 30 in Arizona and 9:59 p.m. in New Mexico, with winners expected to be notified on or about Dec. 11.
Founded in 1932, Bashas’ operates more than 110 stores in Arizona, New Mexico and four Tribal Nations under the Bashas’, Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Eddie’s Country Store and Bashas’ Diné banners. The grocer, a division of The Raley’s Companies, has given back more than $100 million to the communities it serves. Captain Planet Foundation has supported more than 4,000 environmental education projects, with more than 2 million children participating in its programs.