By The Mollen Foundation

Rewriting the future of school, one breath at a time. 

In the middle of a bustling school day in downtown Phoenix, a student sits cross-legged among kale plants, the scent of marigolds lingering in the air. After moving slowly through the garden space, she turns to us and says, “I feel tired.” 

In fact, most of the kids had said the same. But as the chatter quieted and their bodies settled into the rhythm of the garden, something shifted. It wasn’t just fatigue — it was release. Their nervous systems were finally exhaling. They were unwinding and didn’t yet have the words to match the felt experience their bodies were teaching them. 

Moments like this are the quiet revolutions we live for. 

At the Mollen Foundation, gardens are more than green spaces. They’re sacred grounds for learning, healing, and remembering. In these living classrooms, students don’t just learn how to grow kale, they learn how to breathe, belong, and reconnect with something deeper — themselves, their community, and the Earth. 

This is regeneration in action. 

Our work starts with a single seed, a garden bed, a mindful moment, a larger network or collaboration — and grows into a statewide movement, then a national movement. The Mollen Foundation’s Regenerative Schools model is guiding a new kind of education across Arizona — one where soil, food, and learning are part of a larger system of care. 

The Regenerative Mission of the Mollen Foundation 

Rooted in healing. Growing toward wholeness. 

At the Mollen Foundation, we hold one central truth: regeneration starts within and grows outward. It’s not just about compost or kale or climate-smart techniques. It’s about how we treat each other, how we relate to and learn from land, and how we reimagine the future we’re growing into. 

We choose regeneration over sustainability because we believe our communities deserve more than survival — they deserve to thrive. Sustainability asks us to hold the line. Regeneration invites us to dream bigger, dig deeper, and restore the relationships and systems that sustain us. 

We believe that land is a teacher, food is a connector, and education is the entry point to transformation. Every project we lead is guided by one question: What would it look like if education helped regenerate not just minds, but ecosystems, bodies, and communities? Because when we heal the land, we heal ourselves. 

The Niche No One Else is Filling 

We grow within the gaps — and that’s the point. 

Arizona is home to many organizations doing great work in school gardens, nutrition, and food access, but we sit at the intersection of classroom and cafeteria, of soil and spirit, of policy and play. We’re not just teaching kids to eat their veggies or start a garden. What makes us different? 

We’re bridging farm-to-school with regenerative agriculture. We support small, soil-restoring farms and connect them to schools via CSA programs packed with seasonal, culturally relevant crops. We’re not just sourcing local — we’re growing relationships. 

We treat CSA boxes as storytelling tools. Our boxes come with recipes, educational materials, and activities that help families connect with food, land, and each other. 

We train educators to be regenerative leaders. Teachers aren’t just participants in our programs—they’re the movement. With ongoing training and coaching, they integrate regenerative principles into science, social studies, arts, and beyond.

We scale big systems while maintaining the soul. We work with government partners like the Arizona Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and county leaders — while staying rooted in on-the-ground realities and community wisdom. 

We view regeneration as full-circle. This is about more than land. It’s about breath, belonging, and becoming. A radish harvest and a garden meditation both matter — equally. 

We’re striving to be part of the connective tissue in Arizona’s regenerative school food ecosystem.

Arizona Farm to School Collaborative 

This year-long, immersive experience equips school teams with tools, training, and deep support to reimagine their food systems. It begins with a retreat, continues with monthly coaching and peer learning, and ends with real transformation. We’re not planting gardens. We’re planting movements. 

Arizona Farm to School Network 

The open-access counterpart to the Collaborative, the Network offers events, tools, and a growing web of support for anyone involved in farm-to-school work. Whether you’re a school chef in Yuma or a garden coordinator in Flagstaff, you’ve got backup here. 

CSA Program Expansion 

Through our partnerships with regenerative growers, we’re looking to move hundreds of CSA boxes filled with Arizona-grown specialty crops into the hands of students, families, and teachers. 

Chef-Farmer-School Partnerships 

We’re bringing together chefs, local farms, and schools to co-create culturally resonant recipes, live demos, and joyful food experiences that connect taste to tradition, soil to soul. These programs are more than initiatives. They’re signals. That a regenerative school food movement is thriving in Arizona. 

The Regenerative Schools Announcement 

Arizona’s school food revolution is entering its next chapter. This summer, the Mollen Foundation launched the Regenerative Schools Program — a hands-on, deeply immersive experience for schools ready to embrace a new way of teaching, growing, and nourishing their communities. 

This isn’t just professional development. It’s a movement — to heal land, transform classrooms, and regenerate from the inside out. 

The Regenerative Schools Program is built on three core pillars: 

Regenerative Land Practices + CSA Integration 

Schools are trained in regenerative land stewardship — including how to design and care for school gardens, improve soil health, harvest water, and grow culturally relevant specialty crops. These gardens serve as outdoor classrooms and community anchors. 

Through the program’s CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model, we partner with small farms exercising regenerative practices so schools receive boxes of fresh, local produce. These CSA boxes include recipes, educational materials, and activities that bring learning and nourishment directly to students, teachers, and families. 

Professional Development for Educators 

Teachers receive year-round support to weave regenerative concepts into their classrooms. Whether teaching science, health, social studies, or language arts, educators gain tools to embed food systems thinking, environmental stewardship, and community wellness into their curriculum — becoming leaders in the regenerative movement. 

Inner Regeneration 

Mindfulness, purpose, and wellness are central tenets to the program. Educators reconnect with joy, presence, and why they do this work in the first place. 

This program focuses on schools serving socially disadvantaged communities and is open to teams of school employees. It includes farm visits, CSA boxes, coaching and workshops. Applications open Fall 2025.

Call to Action & Vision for the Future 

The movement needs you. Whether you’re a teacher, a farmer, a student, a parent, a community member, or a policy maker — you are a difference maker.