Guidelines for Nomination of a School Garden
1. Eligibility
-Open to any K–12 Kentucky school with an active garden program.
-Schools must have the capacity to grow fresh ingredients used in a recipe involving squash as the main ingredient (e.g., roasted squash mac and cheese, stuffed acorn squash, summer ratatouille, sauteed squash, etc).
-Schools pay partner with a local farm or gardener to grow supplemental ingredients for their squash dish if space is limited at the school

2. Team Requirements
-Schools should form a student garden team of up to 10 students to represent them at the State Fair.
-Teams must include at least one adult sponsor (teacher, garden coordinator, or staff member).

3. Recipe Development
-Teams must create an original squash recipe using produce grown in their school garden. Any variety of squash is acceptable.
-Recipes can include additional store-bought ingredients (e.g., spices, sugar, salt) but must showcase garden-grown items.
-Squash dish must be safe for public sampling.

4. Presentation at the State Fair
-Selected schools will attend the 2026 Kentucky State Fair to:
-Demonstrate the squash-making process
-Offer samples to fair attendees
-Present to 2 sets of judges

5. Judging Criteria
-Taste and originality of squash dish
-Use of garden-grown ingredients
-Team presentation and enthusiasm
-Demonstration professionalism and thoroughness

*Nomination deadline: May 29, 2026

*Nominating your school garden does not guarantee a spot for your school in this challenge. Schools will be notified by June 4th if they are selected for the School Garden Squash Challenge.

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* 1. School Name

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* 2. How many years has the school had a school garden?

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* 3. What county is the school located in?

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* 4. School address

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* 5. Please describe the type of squash dish your school would like to make. You can update this as changes are made, just some ideas the students have about the project.

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* 6. Please provide the name of the point person for the challenge. (Must be an adult employed by the school)

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* 7. Please provide the phone number for the point person

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* 9. Will your school need assistance in transportation to the Kentucky State Fair for the event? Note: Assistance isn't guaranteed.

School Garden Photos
We would love to see what your school garden looks like or has looked like in the past. Add photos if you have them of your school garden. (We may use these to promote the challenge throughout the summer)

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* 10. Photo 1

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* 11. Photo 2

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* 12. Photo 3

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