The end of the school year has been busy for us at Growing Chefs. We have so many new faces on our team, some going out on parental leave, some going on vacation to enjoy the summer, all at the same time as program planning for next year. But before we get there, we’d like to recap and celebrate the end of the school year!
2021 FALL PROGRAM
We had many celebrations in the 2021/2022 school year, the biggest one being our return to in-person programs! Thanks to our incredible volunteers, we delivered a safe and fun program that warmed everyone’s [artichoke] hearts. It’s so good to feel the energy of being back to school!
Over the course of four weeks, our fall program covered a wide range of subjects. To begin, the chefs helped the students plant a small windowsill garden.
Students monitored their gardens, and through a series of games, activities, art projects, and lessons focusing on plant growth, vegetables, sustainability, and food choices, they learned more about where their food comes from and how they are a part of their local food system.
The kids were curious to try new scientific methods as they planted seeds and observed how plants grew over a few weeks. As a class, they came up with ways to test how different conditions affect plant growth and development.
Unfounded hypothesis :-)
Students learned how to read a recipe as they made pickled vegetables together with the chefs. They had the opportunity to take the recipe home and try it with their families, which was a big hit! Some kids returned to school the week after saying their caregivers also wanted to learn how to cook with us.
We love the willingness these kids show to try the salad, and more often than not, they pile their plates with seconds! Our plating and tasting activity promotes creativity and open-mindedness. The end result is a colourful, beautiful plate worthy of pictures.
“It was such a lovely experience volunteering with Growing Chefs! I really enjoyed seeing the students excited to learn about the different aspects of food and for some to break out of their comfort zones to try new foods. I was amazed that many students at such a young age were already very knowledgeable about the gardening process. I definitely learned a lot through this experience from the students and fellow chefs.”
They also had a Virtual Field Trip to either Earnest Ice Cream, Cheakamus Centre, or Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, followed by a live inquiry Q & A session where students could speak directly with their respective teams. It’s amazing to see how engaging these conversations can be, and the types of questions that come up from the students. We have so many brilliant minds in our classrooms!
Check out a teaser of one of the Virtual Field Trips:
2022 SPRING PROGRAM
Historically, our Spring program is our longest one. Over the course of 6 weeks, chefs and students not only learned how to take care of their garden but also learned what composting means and how to do a compost stew, which is the perfect way to close the gardening cycle.
The kids explored their five senses as they examined vegetables and tried to guess what they were. They were also open to tasting different leafy greens and eating the very same greens that they planted in the first class.
One of the most exciting activities - for the chefs and the kids - is to cook together. We can see some sparkles in their eyes when they are able to cook a meal with what they have grown and worked so hard to take care of. This time, they prepped a delicious stir-fry!
“I like to think that Jennifer and I had more fun than the kids did, and that is hard to say because they had a blast. The kids we had this year were extraordinary, they gravitated so well towards the program, and they truly enjoyed it. I think one of our favorite memories was the knife cutting class we did with them in lesson 5. Once they realized they would be handling a knife, some of the kids went a little quiet and shy, perhaps a bit afraid, but as we walked each once of them individually through the drill, everyone was super proud to have used a knife to cut veggies with. Personally, I really enjoyed watching some of the kids go from non-veggie eaters to slowly getting into them with every class that passes by. Every week we had a better bond as a class and a better bond with our food. As per usual, the Growing Chefs salad dressing is always the rockstar of the show, and we heard the kids tell us that they keep making that salad at home.”
THE NUMBERS
48 classrooms engaged in programming!
1,500 kids engaged!
8 Intermediate classrooms in the fall for our Classroom Gardening & Cooking Program!
15 Primary classrooms in the spring for our Classroom Gardening & Cooking Program, including our return to programming in Victoria!
90 volunteers recruited, trained, and supported!
25 classes/groups on Virtual Field Trips!
We all love numbers, but nothing warms your heart more than stories from the students:
LunchLAB
For those who don’t know, LunchLAB (a collaboration with Fresh Roots and the Vancouver School Board) is a fun, education program that serves healthy, delicious lunches prepared by a chef-in-residence, student chefs, and their teachers. Learning with their teacher and a chef-in-residence, students help create the menu, prepare the food, and serve it to their peers. It is an exercise in learning and sharing. And it’s delicious!
Fall 2021 saw the return of LunchLAB at Total Education, while we were able to restart Lunchlab at Lord Roberts in Spring 2022. We can’t wait to return to LunchLAB in our 2023/2024 school year.
We’re incredibly grateful for each and every person who has helped to make these programs possible. After two years of online programming, we missed the energy of the teachers and students, and nothing would have been possible without our dear volunteers, our talented team of staff, and generous supporters. Let’s all continue to teach kids more about healthy food and healthy food systems. If you are looking for ways to get involved, check out the volunteer and donate pages of our website!