PepperGreen Farm, operated by Access Australia Group and staffed by employees with a disability and volunteers, has won a $12,500 federal government grant to improve its kitchen.

The kitchen is used for the preparation of fresh produce bags that are sold to members of the public each week, as well as the salads supplied to local restaurants such as Masons and Wine Bank, and its own catering business.

Enterprise and innovation executive manager Jenny Heenan said the organisation was running at full capacity and the kitchen expansion would allow more employees and volunteers to be taken on, and allow for the sale of more salads and produce bags.

Employee Jenny Ferguson said the revamped kitchen would reduce crowding, and the planned design which would see large windows installed the kitchen would mean employees working inside would not feel excluded from their colleagues working outside in the gardens.

The grant was awarded under the Stronger Communities program, which provides funding for small capital projects.

Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said the project ticked all the boxes for funding because it demonstrated innovation, social inclusion, support for the community and that it was a needed project.

PepperGreen Farm is a community space for horticulture, environmental education and heritage awareness.

The farm is also used to provide supported employment to people with disabilities and deliver training courses in a range of fields, such as horticulture and sustainability.