SCARBOROUGH — SeedMoney, a Scarborough-based nonprofit, is offering 255 grants to schools, community gardens, food banks and other nonprofit causes interested in starting or sustaining a food garden project.

Over the past four years, SeedMoney has helped over 1,100 garden projects in Maine, nationally and internationally to take root.

Some of its local recipients include the Kennebunk Community Garden and the Harvesting HOPE Garden in Alfred.

SeedMoney uses what it calls a crowdgranting model whereby applicant projects are given crowdfunding tools and training allowing them to collect donations from individuals in their communities and qualify for challenge grants of $50 to $700 from SeedMoney.

The next round of grants is SeedMoney’s largest to date.

“We’re looking forward to growing our impacts this year,” said Roger Doiron, SeedMoney’s founding director, in a written statement. “Food gardens are part of the solution to so many of society’s most pressing problems from social injustice to climate change. Often all that’s needed to start up a new school garden or community garden is a few hundred dollars. In return, such projects are able to produce hundreds of pounds of healthy foods for people in need, not to mention countless opportunities for exercise, social interaction and hands-on learning.”

Those societal benefits, Doiron said, are low-hanging fruit for those community groups that are willing to put the work in to harvest them.

To learn more about SeedMoney and apply for one of their grants, visit www.SeedMoney.org