EDUCATION EQUITY
We view quality education and community building as vital components to a healthy society. We believe that all students deserve equal access to educational based on their own unique needs. The overarching goal of The SNAC Foundation is to stimulate academic inquiry through alternative and innovative lesson plans which provide growth opportunities and support for children in under-resourced communities.
Building Healthy Communities
We foster healthy communities by integrating nutrition education, food access, and emotional wellbeing support into our school-based programs. Through community initiatives, we provide essential nutrition education and increase access to healthy food options. Our focus on emotional wellbeing includes nature-based mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga, helping students cope with stress and build social connections. By promoting exposure to fruits and vegetables and integrating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) teaching practices, we empower students with vital life skills.
VIBRANT GARDEN SPACES
The vibrant garden spaces we design and build serve as educational hubs and community resources for the long-term. Through ecological agriculture, we nurture a close sense of connection to food and environment. Our gardens integrate annual vegetable plots with native pollinator habitats and perennial food options, fostering biodiversity and sustainability, regenerating habitat while also growing food. Beyond the schoolyard, we aspire to empower communities to replicate our model, promoting local food systems and sustainable practices.
Encouraging Creativity
We strive to foster creativity in our students through diverse programs and initiatives. From arts and crafts to innovative teaching methods, we aim to inspire imagination and critical thinking. By creating a supportive environment that values individual expression, we empower students to explore their creativity and adapt to an ever-evolving world.
SCHOOL PARTNERS
SCHOOL PARTNERS
The goal of our partner school program is to transform schoolyards into vibrant outdoor classrooms and thriving ecosystems where students of all backgrounds and ethnicities have equitable access to structured hands-on STEM learning and health education.
Each of our partner schools receives the dedicated support from SNAC needed to successfully maintain a school garden long-term.
Every school is assigned a SNAC Garden Educator, who teaches our STEM-Based curriculum during the programming seasons that last 8 weeks each semester. We work with the school administrators to create a school-wide schedule that ensures every classroom has weekly contact hours with the garden programming through the support of our coordinators and curriculum.
This takes the pressure off of already overworked teachers and administrators to maintain and integrate garden learning, and ensures that every single child at a partner school will spend at 6-10 hours a year learning in the garden to supplement their regular curriculum, over the course of 12-16 lesson plans. SNAC also ensures that the garden is managed and maintained properly through help from students and volunteers. Of course— many teachers also choose to become more involved to further integrate the hands on nature of the garden into their classroom curriculums and are welcome to use the outdoor classroom on their own.
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Southern Delaware school of the arts
SELBYVILLE, DE
The flagship SNAC Program is located at Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville (SDSA) through coordinated support with the teachers, administrators, and parent volunteers. The SNAC Garden includes two outdoor classroom areas, a greenhouse, several raised beds, and spaces with a “habitat-based approach, including a woodland area, composting bins, and rain barrels. -
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North Georgetown Elementary
GEORGETOWN, DE
North Georgetown Elementary encompasses a vibrant community of students and parents who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. We are excited to partner with NGE to nurture a permaculture garden and schoolyard food forest into fruition over the next few years. Upcoming projects include the construction of a pergola/outdoor library in the outdoor classroom courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, an expansion of a native pollinator garden thanks to the Khlorane Foundation Budding Botanist Grant, and a mural on the building behind the garden. -
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Longneck Elementary
MILLSBORO, DE
Stepping into the garden at Longneck transports you from schoolyard to eden. We’ve seen an incredible amount of biodiversity at this location in just the first year, and we are constantly adding corners and crevices for wildlife to hide in. Just like frogs and butterflies are eager to call this garden home, the students at Longneck are eager to ask questions, catch bugs, and grow their own vegetables. Upcoming projects include a greenhouse thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
The SNAC Garden Foundation’s founder, Dr. Furtado, started the SNAC Garden in 2009 when her five kids attended the school, in order to help change children’s relationship to their food and make an impact on their health and well-being. As a naturopathic physician, she wanted to improve children’s physical and emotional health, and their capacity for learning, so she dedicated her time to creating the SNAC Garden Program.
We have continued to run programming at the garden every year, long after Dr. Furtado’s children have graduated. Her eldest daughter, Shandra Furtado, is now the executive director of the foundation. Last year, after Shandra took over, SNAC was able to expand its organizational capacity and we added two new school garden programs (k-5) at North Georgetown Elementary and Longneck Elementary.
It all started at Southern Delaware School of the Arts, over 10 years ago.
RECENT FUNDING
2022
Chesapeake Bay Trust
ChiChester duPont
The Carl M. Freeman FACES (Freeman Assists Communities with Extra Support) Award
Grant-In-Aid (GIA)
The Arsht-Cannon Fund
100 Women Who Care Southern Delaware Chapter
USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
2021 (SNAC EXPANDS TO LNE & NGE)
USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
Welfare Foundation
Grant-In-Aid (GIA)
Khlorane Foundation Budding Botanist Grant
Sussex County Community Re-investment Fund