This October, to mark Farm to School Month theme: Think&EatLocal@School we are putting the spotlight on amazing local food initiatives happening across New-Brunswick!
Gardening programs, school gardens, salad bars, cooking lessons and local food feasts are hitting the ground running and showing students how to enjoy and grow a variety of local products.
In Memramcook, the community and the Abbey-Landry school have teaming up to celebrate the opening of the new greenhouse, located next to the school. The new greenhouse has sparked interest among the participants, leading to the creation of a project allowing the residents to rediscover the pleasure of gardening, the importance of healthy eating and cooking, thus creating multiple learning opportunities.
The hope is that this project will connect multiples generations to exchange knowledge and one day, will allow the community to feed the residents in a totally self-sustainable way!
In October, the Abbey-Landry School will offer after school cooking classes and shows students how to prepare seasonal food and take home their culinary creations! They are also hoping to get a salad bar set up in the upcoming months and offer delicious smoothies using ingredients from their new greenhouse! The Memramcook wellness committee is also looking at ways to offer learning opportunities that would benefit the students and the whole community!
The South-east region of New Brunswick is also experiencing a growth in school and community gardens ! Multiples schools in the area such as Beaverbrook School, Bernice MacNaughton High School, Caledonia Regional High School, Hillsborough Elementary School, l’École L’Odyssée, Riverside Consolidated School and Salisbury Elementary School, from K-12, are offering students the chance to get their hands dirty and understand where the food comes from. Some schools have even been able enough fresh produce to feed the entire school for lunch! Other schools have used the garden as a teaching tool for various math and sciences classes, a gold opportunity to offer hands on experience!
A little further up, the Elsipogtog School’s garden has known a blooming success, now serving as a teaching tool for the students and the community to nurture! The community has been actively involved in the garden, which has provided fresh produce to residents, students, patients of the local health and wellness center and has gathered elders a few times during the summer. The garden has truly united the community and students are now more excited than ever to grow more produce, learn about new vegetable and traditional gardening practices and best of all ; eat all the vegetables !
The school has also hosted its annual Garden Feast where staff, students, parents and elders from the community gathered to enjoy a local meal prepared by the students using products from their garden. The school is currently working towards getting a self-serve salad bar and sourcing from a local farmer when possible.
In Edmundston, the salad bar established in the École Notre-Dame is in full operation mode and currently feeding students twice a week since the beginning of the school year. The school is trying to source local ingredients as long as they are available and are taking part in creative and culinary activities, allowing students to decorate and enjoy the sweet taste of squash and pumpkins.
Is it amazing to see New-Brunswickers, schools and farmers working together towards the same goals: creating awareness around the food system, building skills and offering healthy and local products to students to fuel their learning! Despite many challenges, schools all over the province are dedicated to putting more local products in the plates and the mind of students!
