Carlin Elementary Middle School was thrilled to find out that it will receive a $8,200 Farm to School Canada Grant for the upcoming school year!
What are the Farm to School Canada Grants? Offered in partnership with Whole Kids foundation, these grants are valued at up to $10,000 each and are open to all K-12 schools across Canada. The grants create opportunities for students to access healthy, local food at school and participate in hands-on learning that connects them to the local food system and community members involved in it.
Vice-Principal Sandra Major explains the school will be using the funds to upgrade its capacity at the school to provide food including buying crockpots, knives, and a few other kitchen essentials. They also plan to purchase a freezer and upgrade the existing stove. These purchases will all be supporting the school’s soup program, where they endeavour to source locally grown produce for soup for the students!
Major adds the PAC Soup Program organizer, Amanda Jackson, has devoted countless hours and has been instrumental in getting the soup program up and running. Some of the of the funds from the grant will be used to provide a small honorarium in recognition of all the work and another small part to providing food safe/distribution of health foods in schools training opportunities.
CEMS has just become one of 33 schools across Canada to receive a 2022 Farm to School Canada Grant, and one of 166 other schools that have received grants from Farm to Cafeteria Canada since 2016.
F2CC is a partnership-based organization with a vision for vibrant and sustainable regional food systems that supports the health of people and planet. F2CC works toward this vision by providing resources and support to school communities to connect students to their food, and the land and waters it comes from by preparing, harvesting, growing, cooking, preserving – and eating – healthy, local food at school.
To learn more about the Farm to School movement in Canada, and how its connecting students with food and the systems that produce it, visit http://www.farmtocafeteriacanada.ca