Well, that’s a wrap on another successful fall session of our Classroom Gardening & Cooking Program for us at Growing Chefs! The fall program lets us work with students in the intermediate half of elementary schools (grades 4-7). This fall, Growing Chefs was welcomed into 14 classrooms throughout the Lower Mainland (including Surrey, Delta, Richmond, and Burnaby), and 3 classrooms in Victoria! We recruited, trained, and supported 50+ volunteers and always have volunteers that want to return to us semester after semester. With most of our schools having 25-30 kids in their classrooms, we reached over 330 kids with our edible education programming.
We have received so much great feedback this year from our volunteers, teachers, and students!
Students get to “play with their food” and make a plate that looks beautiful to them!
What the volunteers are saying:
“So many kids tried all the vegetables we brought in. They would say they weren’t going to but once it was in front of them and their friends were trying, they would try too!”
“I have learned so much over my experience this fall, and loved working with my team of fellow volunteers.”
“In my classroom, there was such a diverse group of students but they all worked so well together! Everyone had a special story or anecdote to share with us all and I felt so lucky that they trusted me to share with.”
Volunteers and teachers plate lots of different vegetables for students to try for our stir-fry cook off.
What the teachers are saying:
“I have absolutely cherished and loved every single moment with [Growing Chefs]. It has been so incredibly rejuvenating and revitalizing for my soul. It honestly is the highlight of my year. It is such a magical and amazing program. I have never seen anything like it, and I'm so deeply touched by your dedication, kindness and wonderful compassion to all of us. We can honestly taste the love—all of those chopped vegetables are just so incredible!”
“One of our highlights was learning that you can make delicious vegetable broth from vegetable scraps! I was so impressed to see students take risks by sharing their ideas, practicing knife skills, and their willingness to try new foods. It was awesome to watch students hesitate about trying a new food, then watch their faces light up when they realized they liked it!”
What the students are saying:
“I loved trying new things that were brought in for us”
“The pickles were so yummy!
“Thank you for teaching us about how to write recipes”
“Thank you for all your care and attention and for chopping all the vegetables for us to try”
This past year, Growing Chefs has seen a lot of change. From personnel changes to curriculum changes, 2022 was a big year for us. Our Programs Team spent time going over the curriculum that was in place and updating it to be more COVID-friendly. We were back in the classrooms full-time for the first time in over two years, so we wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable and safe. We have always had one of our lessons focus on fresh herbs and ways in which we can use those, including to make tea. This year we went a step further and had our students try dandelion tea, and showcased how you can use and eat every part of a dandelion.
We have also been trying very hard to take stigmatizing language out of our food conversations, such as a food being “good” or “bad”. We want students to think about the choices they are making when it comes to food, and to not feel ashamed that they might choose one food over another for any multitude of reasons. Food choices is a big focus during our lessons and the kids are always so engaged with this topic, even though it is a lot of talking and not as much cooking or tasting. Some of the ideas they come up with and the thoughtfulness they put into their responses is so special to see.
Overall, our fall session was such a success, and we want to acknowledge that we couldn’t do this without the support of so many people! Our wonderful teachers who ask us to come and provide these programs to their students; the amazing volunteers who give their time week after week and put so much effort into delivering our curriculum and preparing fun vegetables for the students to try; and, of course, the students for their openness to trying new things and for letting us into their classrooms with open arms. We also couldn’t do it without the support of our generous donors.