Growing Schools
Wendy Paleczny
All of us need food to survive, but, many of us take food for granted. Global agreements (which Canada has signed) state that food security is a basic human right. Food security is defined as a situation in which:
Everyone has assured access to adequate, appropriate and personally and culturally acceptable food in a way that does not damage self respect;
People are able to earn a living wage by growing, producing, processing, handling, retailing and serving food;
The quality of land, air and water are maintained and enhanced for future generations;
Yet food insecurity remains a reality for many people. In fact over a million Canadians, half of whom are children, go hungry every day. The decisions we make about what we eat and how food reaches the table can have serious social, economic and environmental consequences such as soil erosion, air and water pollution, loss of farmer's livelihood, and depletion of non-renewable resources to mention just a few. Our grocery stores appear to be full of food with prices that are fairly affordable. However, much of the food found in grocery stores travels 2000km to reach us, spending days, even weeks, between harvest and consumption, losing taste and nutritional value along the way. And in an emergency, there is only a two to three day supply of fresh food. Unfortunately, most people have lost their knowledge about nutrition and the ability to grow and preserve their own food.
Growing Schools goal is to provide schools with food and garden related Learning boxes. The Learning box includes instructional materials that serve a variety of learning styles, including games, puzzles, toys and farm- and food-focused storybooks. Boxes also include learning activities to work on in conjunction with the storybooks and other materials in the boxes. The Food Learning box is geared towards Kindergarten and Grade 1 students and will be piloted at various schools on the Sunshine Coast. The focus will be on three primary objectives; To introduce the concept of how foods are grown and produced, To introduce sustainable food systems that emphasize local, in season and organic or reduced use of chemical and pesticide food sources;
and to provide opportunities for community involvement - linking students, neighbours, volunteers, parents, other food security inititiatives and local
community businesses and to improve access to fresh and healthy foods in all communities, particularly those where access is most limited.
In the future, Growing Schools goal is to create a Garden Learning Box to complement schoolyard learning gardens in which students will learn how to grow and harvest nutritious seasonal produce, and a Preserving Nature Learning Box in which students will learn how to prepare nutritious seasonal produce in a school learning kitchen.
For more information, please contact Growing Schools: Wendy Paleczny 604 886-7015
