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A new Farm to Cafeteria Canada (F2CC) call for projects begins today, November 8, 2021. Grants of up to $10,000 are available to Quebec elementary and secondary schools, public or private, who want to increase the amount of healthy, local and sustainable food in their food services for students. The grants will be distributed for such projects as:
- salad bars or other initiatives that allow children to build or create their lunches;
- hands-on activities to help students grow, harvest and prepare food at school.
All details and application forms are now available on the Farm to School web page. The deadline for submitting a project is January 31, 2022.
SOME INSPIRATION AND TOOLS TO GUIDE YOU
Équiterre has developed a few tools to help inspire those who are interested in building a project and to give them a sense of what’s involved. Have a look at our videos that explain the Farm to School initiative and that outline the different stages of a project, from start-up to food procurement, as well as a video on how to adapt a project to a pandemic context. Download: The Implementation Guide to Improving Local Food Procurement in Quebec Schools.
In 2018 and 2020, 15 Quebec schools received Farm to School grants to install salad bars with healthy, local and sustainable food, as well as to create educational activities on gardening and healthy eating.
The Birchwood Elementary School Garden (Saint-Lazare)
WHY GET INVOLVED?
The Farm to School project seeks to increase the amount of healthy, local and environmentally responsible food in the minds and on the plates of students and school communities in Quebec’s elementary and secondary schools.
Other benefits of the program:
- to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables eaten by students;
- to develop food literacy among youth;
- to bring students together around a common project, drawing on the knowledge and skills of each student;
- to promote comprehensive learning for students to discover the journey that fruits and vegetables take from the farm to their plate, by way of their cafeteria!
- to strengthen the local food system;
- to promote short circuits, connecting schools with local farms, agri-food companies, processors and artisans;
- to invite schools to review their food policy by sourcing local products.
For more details on the calls for projects, have a look at the F2CC website. To help you develop your project and submit your application, visit Équiterre’s Farm to school page.
If you have any questions, please contact us at delafermealecole@equiterre.org.
