This year Growing Chefs! has been fortunate enough to have three amazing UBC students from the Land and Food Systems program to join us for our fall program. These passionate students have been helping out in the office, as well as working with our volunteer teams in our participating classrooms to deliver hands-on gardening and cooking lessons. We’d like to introduce you to one of these UBC students, Vivian!
Hello! My name is Vivian and I am working with Growing Chefs! this semester as one of the student interns from UBC! I am currently studying Food, Nutrition and Health, with a minor in Psychology. Growing up, I have always been intrigued by how food can bring us together regardless of gender, age, cultural backgrounds and even personal experiences.
Last year, I had the opportunity to study abroad at the University of Auckland, where I met students from all parts of the world. As an introvert who didn’t know anyone in New Zealand, it was definitely nerve-wracking at first. Despite my worries, however, I was quickly able to settle in and meet some very close friends. One of my favourite memories was when my flatmate’s family visited from Norway and cooked our entire flat a full meal! We spent the entire night learning about our different cultures and connecting over good food.
I love working with kids and I love food; so naturally, this was the perfect placement opportunity for me! What better way to combine two things I’m passionate about than to work with Growing Chefs!? It is so important to educate young children about our food system, especially in regards to where our food comes from and how it gets to our plates. In this day and age, where we have become disconnected with the origins of our food, we can help reconnect the younger generation (and hopefully ourselves!) by bringing gardening and cooking into classrooms.
When I’m not busy with school or work, I love travelling and learning about different cultures. In the summer, you can definitely find me on the scenic route, making road trips around the country! I also enjoy baking occasionally and have recently started picking up photography again after a long hiatus.
I am excited to be joining the Growing Chefs! team this semester and I look forward to learning alongside the team and the students we will be working with!