Connecting to Community Through

Farm to School

Vanessa Perrodou

Farm to School BC Provincial Manager

farmtoschoolbc@gmail.com

Presentation Overview

1. Overview of Farm to School

• Core Elements of F2S

• Benefits

• Farm to School BC History

• The Farm to School Landscape

2. Growing F2S in BC

3. The Farmer in Farm to School

4. Starting a Farm to School program

5. Discussion & Questions

Core Elements of

Farm to School

Healthy, Local Food

Schools source local food in a

variety of ways:

• Direct farmer relationships

• Food distributors

• Schoolyard farms

• Harvesting wild/traditional foods

Schools serve local food in a variety

of ways:

• Salad bar

• Hot lunch program

• Tasting activity

• Fundraiser

• Community celebration

Hands-on Learning

Food Literacy - Kids learning

about food through:

• School Garden

• Greenhouse

• Kitchen

• Lunchroom

• Classroom

• Field Trips

• Local farms

• Forests

• Shores

School & Community

Connectedness

Successful & sustainable F2S

programs are built upon strong

relationships:

• Farmers

• Community Members

• Support Organizations

Tapping into local knowledge,

passion, skills and resources.

Benefits of Farm to School

Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables

Increased willingness to try new foods and healthier

options

Enhanced food literacy

– Enhanced knowledge and skills in food

production, processing, serving

– Increased knowledge about local food systems,

local food and nutritional health (staff, teachers

and students)

Expanding community partnerships among many

stakeholders – teachers, administrators, farmers,

distributors, chefs, parents, students, volunteers,

dietitians, grocers, etc.

From BC Evaluation & Reports

The History of

Farm to School in BC

• Pilot Farm to School program in 2007-2008 at

Dragon Lake Elementary School in Quesnel

• Additional 16 school in 2008-2009 in Northern

and Interior BC through BC Healthy Living

Alliance Funds

• Farm to School BC Network was established 2009

Linking programs

Sharing best practice

Building partnerships

• Today there are approximately 90 Farm to School

programs operating across the province and

growing by 50 by June 2016!

• United States: National Farm to School Network – 40,328 schools!

• National: Farm to Cafeteria Canada

• Provincial: Administered by the Public Health Association of BC, Provincial Coordination

• Regional: Team of Farm to School Regional Leads around the province

• School community: Farmers, processors, gardeners, students, parents, principals, teachers, volunteers, school board trustees, dietitians, community healthy specialists, community partners, environmental health officers, elders, policy makers, academics….

Farm to School Landscape

Growing Farm to School in BC

• 26 New Farm to School Start-up

Grant Recipients

• Establishment of 3 Farm to

School Regional Hubs

• Each hub developing 8 new F2S

programs by June 2016

• Each Hub has hired a part time

Community Animator

• Increased Communications

Capacity

School Nam Location Region

Ashcroft Secondary SchoolAshcroft Interior

Christina Lake Elementary SchoolChristina Lake Interior

LV Rogers High SchoolNelson Interior

Lucerne Elementary/Secondary SchoolNew Denver Interior

Parkway Elementary SchoolPenticton Interior

Prince Charles Secondary SchoolCreston Interior

South Nelson Elementary SchoolNelson Interior

Wild Flower School Nelson Interior

Gitsegukla Elementary SchoolGitsegukla Northern

Kispiox Community SchoolKispiox Northern

Telkwa Elementary SchoolTelkum Northern

Parkland Elementary SchoolQuesnel Northern

Smithers Secondary SchoolSmithers Northern

Wells Barkerville Elementary SchoolWells Northern

Gibsons Elementary SchoolGibsons Vancouver Coastal

Kelly Creek Community SchoolPowell River Vancouver Coastal

Godson Elementary SchoolAbbotsford Fraser

Maillard Middle SchoolCoquitlam Fraser

Sardis Secondary SchoolChilliwack Fraser

Tamanawis Secondary SchoolSurrey Fraser

Yarrow Community School Chilliwack Fraser

Bowser Elementary SchoolBowser Vancouver Island

Fernwood Elementary SchoolSalt Spring Island Vancouver Island

Gabriola Elementary SchoolGabriola Island Vancouver Island

Lake Trail SchoolCourtenay Vancouver Island

Ucluelet Elementary SchoolUcluelet Vancouver Island

Benefits to Farmer

• An additional market for produce, off

season

• Educating a new generation of farmers

• Extended classroom – different ways

farmers can get involved and benefit

• Potential to expand market to other

public institutions, multiple schools,

universities, etc (local food procurement)

• Connecting with community, potential to

grow customer base at local Farmers’

Market.

Challenges for Farmer

• Small market (if just one

school)

• Distribution

• Coordination

• Sustainability – need champion,

funding

• Food costs (schools on limited

budgets)

The Farmer in Farm to School

Interested in Partnering With

Schools in Your Community?

1. Find a champion within the

school

2. Build a team

3. Dream and build long term

program vision

4. Establish 1 or 2 realistic short

term goals

5. Plan for sustainability

6. Seek funding

7. Implementation

Utilize Farm to School Resources

www.phabc.org/farmtoschool

“New Tools from the Shed” e-files• Templates, tools and more!

Farmer & School Contract Templates

School Oder Form Templates

Farm Field Trip Toolkit

Farm to School BC

Webinar for Farmers

Webinar recorded in May 2014 for

farmers “An Intro to Farm to

School for Farmers”

Find it under the resources section

of our website

Stay Connected….Follow Us!

@farmtoschoolbc

Farm to School BC Newsletter

Signup button on the Farm to School BC website

Farm to School BC

Farm to School BC

Vanessa Perrodou

Provincial Manager

Farmtoschoolbc@gmail.com

Farm to School BC Regional Leads

Northern BC

Lise Luppens

Public Health Dietitian

Lise.luppens@northernhealth.ca

Vancouver Island

Justine Wardle

Public Health Dietitian

Justine.wardle@viha.ca

Interior

Tatjana Lauzon

Public Health Dietitian

Tatjana.Lauzon@interiorhealth.ca

Greater Vancouver

Kathy Romses

Public Health Dietitian

Kathy.romses@vch.ca

Sunshine Coast

Meghan Mulnar

Public Health Dietitian

Meghan.mulnar@vch.ca

Fraser Valley

Anne Todd

Comm. Health Specialist

Anne.todd@fraserhealth.ca

Farm to School BC Contact Information

Farm to School Regional

Hub Animators

Greater Vancouver Regional Hub

Nil Alt

Community Animator

gvf2scommunityanimator@gmail.com

Kamloops School District Regional Hub

Kiera McPhee

Community Animator

keiramc@gmail.com

Capital Region Hub

Aaren Topley

Community Animator

Aaren.topley@gmail.com

Thank you!

Questions?