Thirteen year-old Sarah Lewis never liked the chicken burgers and pizza at her school’s cafeteria. Although they were cheap, they were far from nutritious and anything but local. One day, when the healthiest thing she could find was a preservative-packed Caesar salad, she realized something needed to change. “Everything I saw was unhealthy. I didn’t...Read More
Photo: Yun Leong Something shifted in 2010. Two cities that had been overcoming barriers to school gardens and getting local foods in classrooms now found themselves starting farms on school grounds. These farms added one more educational and food production tool to the complicated puzzle of Farm to School. Some wondered if school farms would be...Read More
Photo: Oliver Elementary School is turning some of its students into “young farmers” as part of the Salad Bar Program. In top photo are students getting ready to grow their gardens. In top photo from left are Matthew Hodge, Dustin Cachola, and Justin Vala. In back row are Nicholas Lang, Jasneet Sidhu, Avnit Sidhu, and Eisha...Read More
For the volunteers who came out April 12 to prepare the garden beds at David Thompson secondary school, it was about supporting environmental causes in any way they could. Volunteer Barbara Bradbury said there’s a huge need for individuals to help out. “The Vancouver Park Board doesn’t have enough money,” she said. “They can’t hire...Read More
Therapeutic gardens boost mental and physical health Tucked away on the campus of B.C. Children’s Hospital is an oasis of sorts. It’s a therapeutic food garden frequented by young inpatients and outpatients in programs run by B.C. Mental Health and Substance Use Services. Julia Thiessen, executive director of the Environmental Youth Alliance, gave the Georgia...Read More
Last week, while spring flurries flew around us, we built a new school food garden. Dundas Public School and First Nations School of Toronto now have a shared school garden! The process has been in the works for over a year, but last week the physical garden build finally happened! I work at Dundas and...Read More
Photo: Niagara College sustainability engagement assistant Gina Pannunzio looks over one of many trees to be included in the school’s edible orchard. A groundbreaking for the orchard was held as part of the school’s Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 25, 2015, in Welland, Ont. Maryanne Firth/Welland Tribune/Postmedia Network Niagara College has launched a new initiative...Read More
When most of us think of “hospital food,” we think meatloaf and Jell-O — basically bland, tasteless, and not particularly healthy. Traditionally, the hospital was someplace where you had to eat, not a place where you would choose to eat. And the cafeteria was mainly a place for time-challenged staff and distracted guests to eat...Read More
Photo: Halton Healthcare Service (HHS) was recently honoured by the Ontario GreenBelt Fund for its locally-grown foods project. From left, Anita Stewart, author and culinary activist, University of Guelph; Elma Hrapovich, director of clinical nutrition and food services, HHS; Marianne Katusin, HHS manager of operational readiness, food services; and Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of the Ontario Greenbelt...Read More
Wondering who can supply you with local berries in January? Or maybe you’re looking for pasture-raised pork for your home economics class? Or perhaps you’re looking for someone who needs local oats year round? Thanks to Get Fresh, a networking event hosted by Food Matters Manitoba, producers and purchasers are now better able to answer...Read More
