Happy National Volunteer Week!

Although we try to celebrate our volunteers year-round, this is an official week when we highlight and celebrate the many volunteers that contribute to Growing Chefs. Volunteers bring a wealth of skills, experiences, and perspectives to our organization and keep us growing and thriving. There would be no Growing Chefs without volunteers! We are particularly impressed by and grateful for the many ways that volunteers have continued to show-up, adapt, persevere, and grow during this truly challenging last year.

All month we are spotlighting volunteers on our social media and their stories are just a sample of the many volunteers who have shaped Growing Chefs and continue to work along with us. Here are just some of the ways that volunteers have contributed to Growing Chefs this past year:

•  Prepared and delivered meals for LunchLAB: Chefs for Families.

• Taught and hosted virtual learning events, cooking classes, and fundraisers.

• Provided video content, recipes, and more for our virtual Growing Chefs at Home lessons.

• Taught a local classroom about food systems as a virtual Vegeta-pal.

• Consulted and contributed in specialized roles like human resources, graphic design, and photography.

• Welcomed Growing Chefs and our students to their places of work for Growing Chefs Virtual Field Trips.

• Contributed expertise, guidance, and governance as our Board of Directors.

We are deeply grateful for all of you that lift us up in so many different ways, and we can’t wait until we can see your smiles in person again. 

Please check-out our volunteer spotlights this month on social media (give them a whole lot of likes) and enjoy the below volunteer spotlight of two super innovative volunteers, Farmer Miche and Chef Patrick.

Volunteer Spotlight:

Names: “Farmer Miche & Chef Patrick”

Day Jobs: “Miche is a farmer at an organic family farm in the Cowichan Valley, as well as a full time student (horticulture trades & biology). Patrick is a full time Chef Extraordinaire for a locally owned deli / grocer called "Urban Grocer" in Victoria.”

Favorite Vegetables: “Patrick's favorite is broccoli, and Miche can't pick just one… but if she had to, it would be the always-versatile potato.”

Why do you volunteer with Growing Chefs? “We LOVE volunteering with Growing Chefs for many reasons! Both of us love connecting people to food, and teaching people where their food comes from. We love the energy and excitement of the children, and believe we need to nurture and nourish our future foodies / farmers / environmentalists, etc. The students and teachers we have been virtually sharing Growing Chefs experiences with have been so amazing and inspirational, and very much something we looked forward to on each communication.”

What has it been like to be a virtual volunteer? “It has been a positive experience for us. In these uncertain times, we have all had to navigate through some challenges with schedules and daily life, but the staff at Growing Chefs have been incredibly supportive, flexible, and open with their communications.”

Is there a story about volunteering that you would like to share? “In a virtual setting, it can be challenging to see if we, as volunteers, were making any impact on the students we were sharing with, especially since it is not a typical face to face scenario that we are (pre-covid) used to. That was, until we made a video for our Vegeta-pals on "healthy pizzas". As part of the program Q&A, we had answered what each of our favorite fruits, veggies, and comfort foods were. We each mentioned different things, and when we received our response from our Vegeta-pals, it was evident that either; 1) They had incredibly similar tastes as we did, or, 2) They were actually listening to what we had said, based on their curiously similar responses :) It was so special for us, and we truly appreciate the experience this has offered us!”

Food Scrap Dyed Eggs

Click here for printable activity instructions.

It’s officially spring, and in our house, that means that we are looking forward to Easter (and dying Easter eggs). This year we thought we would try something different and dye our eggs using food scraps instead of the food colouring we usually use. The idea of a homemade dye appealed to us for a few reasons:

• We don’t need to buy a kit or food colouring.

• Simmering our own dye mixture is a chance for us to be creative and learn about the science of making and applying dye.

• Making our own dye adds some intrigue – we won’t know what colour our eggs will be until we are done! 

For our egg dye, we decided to make two dye baths using yellow onion skins and beet trimmings.

You may be wondering what colours these food scraps will make - and the answer is more surprising than you may think! Each of these food scraps have the potential to make several different colour results - depending on a few factors:

1. What egg you apply the dye (white eggs vs. brown eggs).

2. Mordants - This is what binds the dye to an object and can greatly alter the colour result. An example of a mordant is vinegar or salt. Read more on the science of mordants below.

To make our dye bath we combined 1 cup of vegetable scraps with 1 cup of water. We grated the beet scraps to get maximum effect and simply broke the onion skins into large pieces. We put our vegetable scraps and water on the stove to simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on, stirring regularly. After the dye was sufficiently simmered, we drained out the vegetable pieces and had an interesting conversation about what to do with the boiled food scraps, we decided to keep the bits of beet to add to a soup and compost the onion skins.  We transferred the remaining liquid (our dye) to a smaller container and added a mordant – we chose vinegar. Then we waited for our dye bath to cool. 

Then it was time to dye our eggs! We opted to dip our eggs several times to get the desired shades. Our eggs turned really nice shades of yellow and pink. We learned a great deal about how dye is made – and even watched a YouTube video about pigments. We are very proud of our eggs and plan to refrigerate them until their big reveal on Easter morning – when we will eat them for breakfast, along with loads of chocolate!

The Science of Mordants and Experiments with Mordants:

Mordants are what fixes or binds colour to an object through a chemical reaction. Dying is simply a fixation of colour to a mordanted material. Some dyes have natural mordants, but others don’t - these would visibly create colour, but not attach to the medium you are trying to dye. Through this process of reactions, you can also modify the colour that natural dye ingredients provide by using different mordants. For example, see the picture below for an example of the different colours that can come from the same original dye bath of yellow onion skins on fabric, depending on the mordant added.

Image Source: Cedar Dell Designs

 Natural Mordants:

• Vinegar - 1 tablespoon of vinegar per 1 cup of water

• Salt - 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 cup of water

• Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per 1 cup of water

• Cream of Tartar - 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar per 1 cup of water

• Baking Soda - 1 tablespoon baking soda per 1 cup of water

 Formula to Experiment with Dye Baths:

• Create your dye bath → 1 cup of food scrap, per 1 cup of water (use just one type of food scrap per dye bath)

• Boil for 30 minutes to 1 hour

• Strain your dye and pour into smaller containers and add a different mordant into each smaller dye batch while still hot

• Let cool

• Dip your eggs into the different dye baths to see if you notice any changes in colour from using different mordants

  More things to try:

• Try dipping multiple times for increased colour take-up

• Try layering different colours

• Experiment with leaving the egg in for different lengths of time

Family Cooking Class on March 18th - Let's Meet the Chef!

This Spring Break, we’ve planned super fun, interactive online experiences for elementary school-aged kids between March 15th and March 26th. These activities will provide kids with the opportunity to explore their local food system, meet local food champions, and continue learning about growing and cooking. One of these upcoming events is a virtual cooking class for the whole family with our good friend and long-time Growing Chefs volunteer Chef Linda Olson!

SOUP-RISE COOKING CLASS
(ages 5-13)
THURSDAY, MARCH 18TH
5:00-6:30PM PST

Chef Linda has planned a fun and exciting “choose your own adventure” style recipe and live cooking class for kids and families (adult supervision recommended). Join us as we learn how to make a delicious and nutritious vegetable soup that you can easily customize to your family’s personal tastes. Learn about seasonal vegetables and find out what mirepoix is and how to make one. There will be plenty of hands-on opportunities to learn and practice kid-friendly kitchen skills during this event.

We’re incredibly grateful and excited to have Chef Linda join us for this event and we’d love for you to get to know her as well!

How did you get into cooking? 

I discovered my passion for food and flavours while working at the Stock Market on Granville Island. At the same time, I met my future husband who loved cooking and encouraged me to pursue a career in food.

Why do you think it's important to get kids involved in the kitchen? 

I believe that when kids take an active role in growing and preparing food, they are more likely to try new things and give healthier foods a chance. 

Why you support Growing Chefs? 

I think a lot of people have lost touch with the true value of food and local food systems. I believe that understanding where your food comes from is important for people of all ages, but the earlier you learn it, the better! The growing aspect of Growing Chefs is just as important as the cooking aspect in my opinion.

What's your favourite local food this time of year?

It’s a tough time of year for local food! Lots of squashes and root vegetables that have made it through the winter. I also grow tomatoes in an indoor hydroponic garden  so I’m loving having fresh extremely local tomatoes for dinner!

Chef Linda is the Kitchen Manager at Truffles Fine Foods. Started in 2005 by owner Nin Rai, Truffles Fine Foods honed its excellent reputation by catering for the film industry in the Greater Vancouver area. Based out of South Vancouver, Truffles quickly grew its reputation as being able to meet the most demanding requirements of sets and film starts – from one-day shoots to full-length feature films, with all of the necessary equipment to provide delicious food, snacks, and beverage service. It didn’t take long to notice that the skills, experience, and equipment in the film catering industry could easily transition to providing the same high-quality service to non-film clients. After working in the high-pressure environment of film catering, it was a simple evolution to offer catering for other types of events, big or small.

Participation in this event is $10. If this cost is a barrier to participating for you and your learner(s) please reach out to us at admin@growingchefs.ca. We will make sure that everyone who wants to participate in our online learning events is able to. Please note this ticket price does not include the cost of ingredients, you will be sent a shopping list in advance and be responsible for sourcing your own ingredients.

Friends of Growing Chefs: James from the Vancouver Master Gardeners Association

Last summer, we partnered with the Vancouver Master Gardeners Association (MGA) to provide a series of ‘Gardening Q&A’ blog posts. This Spring, we are grateful to have the master gardeners join us again in sharing their knowledge to create kid-focused gardening resources and activities, assisting our teachers with classroom growing support, an exciting new webinar series, and more! We are so excited to work with them again this growing season, to bring our Growing Chefs community the information they need to grow their own local, nutritious food.

To kick it all off, we want to introduce you to James Spears, a Master Gardener who will be taking the lead in coordinating our collaborative projects, and engaging other master gardeners and students-in-training to share their knowledge with us. We feel so fortunate to have James working closely with us, he is a super cool guy with extensive experience growing food in his year-round garden where he gets most of his inspiration and key ingredients to cook delicious meals from.

Hi James! Tell us a bit about yourself!

I tell my gardening friends I’m really a cook, and I tell my cooking friends I’m really a gardener. Any season, I like to wander through my kitchen garden and decide what’s for dinner. My “day jobs” were as a journalist, photographer, and lawyer prior to retirement; during the late 60s and 70s I had an acre of garden in Langley and rented an organic plot in Richmond before establishing my Kitsilano Kitchen Garden in 1983. It has been a year-round kitchen garden since, with a list of 60 herbs and veggies that I have enjoyed, not necessarily in the same year.  

Thanks to many trips to France, I have sampled roughly 400 French restaurants (not including breakfast) and can remember two really bad meals, and many, many good, inexpensive meals in restaurants without expectation of attaining a Michelin star.  

Why did you want to get involved with the work that Growing Chefs is doing? 

Good, local food, and the knowledge that is needed to excel in the kitchen. 

What are you eating these days?

I am eating fresh leeks, chard, kale, parsnip, onion, cilantro, lettuce, kiwi, salad burnet, chives, daikon radish and carrots. Lots of winter squash. And of course rosemary, thyme and other herbs. The beets have just finished; it seems I didn’t plant enough!

What's your favourite meal to cook?  

I have given a number of garden club talks on: "Minestrone Soup Reverse Engineered” in which most of the ingredients are available in all seasons. 

Hint: Basil is important, and summer-only, but frozen pesto is a great substitute. 

What is your earliest food related memory?  

Too many good meals to answer, but I am old enough to say that my parents, and grandparents, took it for granted that they would grow big kitchen gardens. So I don’t remember a time when a supermarket or grocery store was a prime source of veggies. Meat and cereals? That’s another story.

Current produce obsession?

Tromboncino squash (pictured below)

*Also visible for the sharp eye in the photo below:  Arugula, parsnip, artichoke, parsley, kiwi, pole bean, onion, fava bean, pepper, and leek.  

You’ve never heard of Tromboncino squash? Learn all about it at James’ webpage ‘Tromboncino 101’ romboncino.ca/.

Vancouver Island CSA 2021

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is one of our favourite ways to support our local growers and producers. It’s pretty much the ideal system for connecting you to the freshest and best product available locally. In the CSA model, a consumer buys in at the beginning of the growing season, providing the farmer an influx of cash to get the crops growing. In return, you, the customer, get a weekly supply of product, typically fruit and vegetables often accompanied by a newsletter and recipes to leave you feeling inspired to get into the kitchen.

The farmer gets a guaranteed source of income, which allows the consumer to contribute to a sustainable local food system. You receive fresh fruits and vegetables, often in varieties, colours, and shapes that are new to you. It’s a win-win situation.

The CSA model is thriving in BC with Vancouver Island not being an exception. Our Victoria Program Assistant, Christine, has put together a list of the many CSA programs available through the island. And if signing up for a CSA isn’t for you, read through to learn about many farms on the Island and how you can support them.

Saanich

Fierce Love Farm
fiercelovefarm.ca

We are a small certified organic farm growing a diversity of high-quality vegetables, fruit, and flowers for our local community. We are part of Haliburton Community Organic Farm.
Season/Cost:
18 week CSA 
$463.50 (includes $0.75 weekly subsidy towards CSA shares for families with barriers to food access!)
Our CSA is currently sold out. However, we sell weekly at Moss Street Market, and in the main season you have the option to pre-order from our website for pick up.

Find us on Instagram: @fiercelovefarm

Peas n’ Carrots Farm 

This year we are running a small CSA at Peas n’ Carrots, offering our very best, fresh, seasonal produce.

Each week, customers could receive anything from kals, tomatoes, beans, eggs, salad greens, chard, peppers, beets, radishes, strawberries, onion, herbs, cucumber, potatoes, squash, and of course, peas n’ carrots! This year, this money invested by shareholders will go towards building our epic wash station and a space for chickens.

Season/Cost:
Mid June - Mid September
We will have beautiful food boxes available for shareholders at a value of at least twenty dollars each week for pickup at the Farm on Thursdays.
CSA is $20 a week for 15 weeks for a total of $300 for the season

The best way to get in touch with us is on social media.
Instagram: @peasncarrotsfarm
Facebook: @peasncarrotsfarm

Rake and Radish Farm
rakeandradish.ca

Rake and Radish is a small-scale farm growing a wide range of vegetables, as well as berries and flowers, at the base of PKOLS on unceded W̱SÁNEĆ territory. At Rake and Radish Farm, we aim for queer farming and make fresh, delicious vegetables more accessible to people in our community. CSA opening for registration around mid-March.

Season/Cost:
The season runs for 20 weeks, from June to October. Small boxes are $15/box and large boxes are $30/week.

Follow along on social media.
Instagram: @rakeandradish
Facebook: @rakeandradish

Square Root Farm
squarerootfarm.com

We are a certified organic farm on the Saanich Peninsula. Our CSA is a farmer-chosen selection of the best produce we have in the field. We love vegetables!  Weekly boxes will include a mix of vegetables that are familiar - like lettuce, beans, carrots, cucumbers, and kale but expect some vegetables that might be new - like celeriac, salad turnips, and fennel.  Be aware that we LOVE growing chicories like escarole and radicchio so if you aren't yet a fan of mildly bitter flavours, now is the season to learn! Also, because of where our farm is, we aren't allowed to grow potatoes or tomatoes so that's not part of our offering.

Our vegetables (and us!) can be found at The Moss Street Market starting in May. We also get to work with some of the best chefs in Victoria. If you are able, please support some of the wonderful restaurants that work to support local farms, their own staff and co workers and their community.  A few restaurants Square Root Farm ingredients can be found at are: Agrius, Nowhere *A restaurant, and The Courtenay Room.

Season/Cost:
Our main season CSA runs from mid-June through the end of September: $480 for 16 weeks ($30/box)
Our fall season CSA is October through mid-November: $180 for 6 weeks ($30/box)

Find us on Instagram: @squarerootfarm/

The Plot Market Garden theplotmarketgarden.com/store/

Fresh, seasonal salad-forward vegetables from our small no-spray, no-till farm. We also offer add-on products from other local producers like Old Soul Jam Co, House of Boateng, Forager's Galley, Blackrose farm, Babe's honey, and more. Delivery to Greater Victoria is included in the price of our CSA boxes.

Season/Cost:
Our boxes are $30, which includes a delivery fee, and runs from April - November. They can be purchased in two ways: Either as a traditional CSA model where seasonal boxes are paid for upfront ($300 for the first 10 Spring boxes), or as a flexible pay-as-you-go model, where you purchase from the online store week-by-week as you like (subscribe to get weekly notifications during the growing season of what's in the box). However, we do encourage signing up for the traditional model as it helps us as small farmers get ready for the season ahead with some financial stability. Both our pre-paid sign-up and pay-as-you-go options allow purchasing add-ons from other local producers.

Find us on social media.
Instagram: @theplotmarketgarden
Facebook: @theplotmarketgarden

---

Victoria

City’s Edge Farm
citysedgefarm.ca/weekly-produce-boxes/

City’s Edge Farm grows a wide range of vegetables, herbs, and berries using techniques chosen to enrich the soil, care for the land and produce nutrient-rich food for the local community. We sell our crops through a weekly (or biweekly) share to our CSA members as well as at our Farm Stand.

Members who join City’s Edge Farm’s CSA are more than just customers, they are central to making the farm a success. In exchange for their commitment to the farm, we work to provide our CSA members with an abundance of healthy food throughout the season.

Season/Cost:
City’s Edge Farm main season CSA runs for 22 weeks, from May 27th – Oct 21st, 2021. 
A Full share (weekly) is $660 and a Half share (biweekly) is $330. Members can pay in full or with monthly payments.

Find us on social media.
Instagram: @citys_edge_farm

South Island FarmHub
ifarmhub.ca/produce-boxes

The South Island FarmHub offers an aggregated produce box, meaning we source local produce, eggs, bread, and processed items from different farms in the CRD to produce a weekly produce box. Customers can also shop "a la carte" to create their own box. We currently have 20 participating farmers and processors. We do not offer the traditional CSA model rather we seek to support farms in helping to distribute their excess after they satisfy their own CSA's. We are the next option after your local farm's CSA has filled.

Season/Cost:

Small Regional Box $35/week | Big Regional Box $50/week | Organic Regional Box $45/week 
We will begin in April and our goal is to go year-round.

Follow along on social media.
Instagram: @southislandfarmhub
Facebook: @SouthIslandFarmHub

---

Langford - Metchosin - Sooke - Shirley

Greener Side Farm
The Greener Side farm is a sustainable small-scale farm started in fall 2019 by Lo Shrum in the Sooke/Shirley region. Offering vegetables with no pesticides or chemical fertilizers as well as organically fed and ethically raised pork. The farm isn’t certified organic yet but strongly believes in its practices and follows the standards of the certification bodies as well as focusing on minimizing the impact on the environment.

CSA baskets will be delivered right to your door or you can choose to pick it up in Sooke. Delivery locations include Sooke, Otter Point, Shirley and Langford.  To Register you can fill out the registration form here: https://forms.gle/friqAmsLmotDSsRt7

Or you can check out our online store- https://www.localline.ca/the-greener-side-farm

We will also have products available for sale from May until December on our online store as well as at the Sooke Night Market and Shirley Market from June until September. If you would like to receive updates when things are available register to our newsletter by clicking this link.

Season/Cost:
Our CSA Basket this year is delivered weekly for 21 weeks from beginning of June until the end of October. $20 vegetable baskets 

Follow us on social media!
Instagram: @thegreenersidefarm
Facebook: @thegreenersidefarm

Livin’ the Dream Farm
livinthedreamfarm.net/ 

Three generations of the Greenwood Family are farming together in Shirley! Their Full Share, and Family Share CSA boxes are sold out, but check out their website at livinthedreamfarm.net/box-program to learn more about their other offerings such as salad shares, eggs, plants, and vegetable, herb, and medicinal plant starts.

Follow along on Facebook: @greenwoodfarmers 

Silvercloud Farm
www.silvercloudfarm.ca

Silver Cloud Farm is a small-scale farm in Sooke that follows the principles of organic farming, and focuses on producing a wide array of vegetables, berries, and fruit. Our goal is to grow premium quality, fresh produce that is harvested at the peak of perfection

Season/Cost:
June - end of October 
$20 per box with options for larger or smaller boxes

Follow along on social media!
Instagram: @silvercloudfarm 
Facebook: @SilvercloudfarmSooke

Sweet Acres Farm
sweetacresfarm.ca 

Sweet Acres Farm is owned and operated by Ariella Falkowski on leased land at Lohbrunner Community Farm in Langford BC. We have become well known through the Greater Victoria area over the past 3 years for delicious, high-quality, certified organic mixed produce.

In 2021 we are not offering a CSA program, but instead are focusing our energies on growing a limited amount of storage crops to feed ourselves and our communities. These will include favourites like carrots, beets, potatoes, winter squash, onions, shallots, and more - with a few fun and seasonal tidbits thrown in there too! Bulk amounts of storage crops will be available for folks interested in stocking up for winter come fall.

We highly recommend signing up for our mailing list (link on website) and following our social media channels to stay in the know!

Find us on social media!
Instagram: @sweetacresfarmer
Facebook: @SweetAcresFarm

Umi Nami Farm
minamifarm.wordpress.com/vegetable-box-program/

$10, $15, $ 20, $25, $30 (larger boxes available as well) - can increase or decrease any time—changes will appear on your next invoice

Follow along on social media!
Instagram: @uminamifarm
Facebook: @uminamifarm

Vitality Farm
vitalityfarm.ca

Our farm is a proud member of the Lohbrunner Community Farm Cooperative. Located in the western communities, Lohbrunner Community Farm is a sanctuary where families and people of all ages learn, contribute, and experience where their food comes from. Vitality Farm is proud to be the supplier to many local farm-to-table restaurants, including Canoe Brew Pub, Wild Mountain Food and Drink, House of Boateng, Indecent Risotto, and The Palms Kitchen at Hotel Rialto as well as weekly attendance at the Goldstream and Metchosin Farmers markets. Last year we received outstanding support from the community. And we Thank You for that! You will find Our Harvest Box selections offer you premium, restaurant quality, fresh, local produce for farm pick-up.

Season/Cost:
Vitality farm has 5 CSA box options, operating through early Spring to Fall (May-late October) - ranging from 7 - 22 weeks long, with several different pricing options.

Learn more about the various options and pricing by checking out their webpage.

Follow along on social media!
Instagram: @dianadoug_brubaker/

---

Mill Bay/Duncan

OUR Eco Village
ourecovillage.org/our-csa-box/

OUR Ecovillage has approximately nine acres in food production, including greenhouses, propagated gardens, food forests, animal areas, and grazing space. As with all areas of our site, permaculture is always on our minds as we plan and grow as much food as possible to meet our community’s needs. OUR Educational CSA Boxes contain fresh food grown and harvested on the land as well as other local community goodies ready for pick up each week.  Upon CSA subscription, you will also receive our weekly newsletter which features recipes, valuable information, and special programs.

Season/Cost:
OUR Educational Lifestyle Box
Includes vegetables and fruit (when available) for 4 or 5 people, a surprise OUR item — e.g. eggs, sausages, or canned goods, and an occasional sample of a locally-made product or service.
Full Season – 20 Weeks: $850
First Half Season – 10 Weeks: $425
Second Half Season – 10 Weeks: $425

OUR Educational Veggie Box
Includes enough vegetables and fruit (when available) for 2 or 3 people, a recipe, and an occasional sample of a locally-made product or service.
Full Season – 20 Weeks: $650
First Half Season – 10 Weeks: $325
Second Half Season – 10 Weeks: $325

We don’t want to leave anyone out, if you have a need and wish to make alternative payment arrangements, please email us at info@ourecovillage.org and make a proposal.

Follow along on social media!
Instagram: @ourecovillage
Facebook: @O.U.R.Eco

---

Courtney

Amara Farm
amarafarm.ca

In addition to our CSA program, we also have a farmstand that runs on Tuesdays and Fridays. Items can be pre-ordered from our website for a contactless pick-up.

Season/Cost:
Amara farm provides a 10-week Summer CSA that runs from June-Sept. We also do a 6-week fall CSA that runs from the second week of Sept to the end of October.
We include $30 worth of vegetables and fruit (including at least three weeks of blueberries) with pick-up at our farm north of Courtenay. 

Follow along on social media!
Instagram: @amara_farm
Facebook: @AmaraFarm 
Twitter: @AmaraFarm

Whitaker Farm
whitakerfarmyqq.com

Whitaker Farm is certified organic and has been growing for CSA programs for five years in Courtney. We offer a 16 week program with a choice of delivery or on farm pick up. Veggies we love to grow include super sweet carrots, peas, tomatoes, salad, potatoes and strawberries!

Season/Cost:
Summer 16 weeks/ Fall 6 weeks
Available until March - Farmers Market Friend program. Pre purchase market or farmstand credit of $600 for only $500, you get 20% more for your money!

Celebrating International Women's Day at Growing Chefs

At Growing Chefs, we adore International Women’s Day. It’s a great opportunity for us to reflect on our community and highlight some of the local women and women-run businesses that are creating delicious food and accomplishing amazing feats, right in our backyard. And wow - our community makes this easy for us! Read on to virtually meet some of the wonderful women that help keep our hearts and bellies full.

Plus, we asked each of them to name women who inspire them, so the appreciation goes on and on! Enjoy.

Selma van Halder

Our very own Chef Selma’s talents expand even farther than Program Manager and Chef Educator at Growing Chefs; you can also find her co-managing the kitchen at Luv the Grub, and mentoring other change-makers with Groundswell.

What is your earliest food-related memory?

My earliest food memories are mostly of my mom and I in the kitchen together. The first dish I remember making start to finish was an omelette. When I was 5 there was one evening a week where I took swimming lessons. As a light meal before splashing into the pool, and no doubt as a way to make me feel good about the evening despite the swimming lesson, my mom would allow me to make my own omelette every week. The only thing I needed help with was the pulling apart of the egg shell, because I needed someone with stronger thumbs than mine. I'd help out in the kitchen often, but being allowed to turn on the gas and do the whole thing uninterrupted was a big deal. I'd eat it on a white milk bun in the car on the way to the pool. I remember absolutely hating swimming lessons (too cold!), but loving that precious omelette and the joy of making it all by myself.

Do you have a garden at home? What do you like to grow?

I love my garden! I used to grow all kinds of things in pots on my balcony, and now I have the joy of gardening in boxes in my yard. Last year I grew lots of leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collards, a whole host of different coloured carrots and beets, lots of herbs, and a tomato forest that got a little out of hand.

How do you help to support and lift up other women in food and agriculture?

By learning, by advocating, by co-conspiring, and by putting my money where my mouth is. There are some immensely awesome women and femmes working in all corners of our food system and they deserve support. I spend my energy and my money on getting to know folks in our food system, especially those with historically overlooked identities, like women and femmes who are racialised or whose womanhood intersects with other marginalised identities.

Who are your favourite women role models in food and agriculture (2-3)?

Karen McAthy: I met Chef Karen at my volunteer training with Growing Chefs, 6 years ago. Over the years I've gotten to know her as a kind, generous, and extremely talented person. To be able to make it as far as she has as a woman in an often exclusionary industry, with a vision as radical as hers, is more than commendable. She is a force. I'm glad to see her business Blue Heron thriving, and that she is getting some of the recognition she deserves.

Alexis Nikole Nelson (@alexisnikole on TikTok and @blackforager on Instagram): Alexis knows so much about foraging and does lots of experimenting in her kitchen. I love people who are nerdy in a very particular direction. Alexis' posts remind me that there is so much more to learn and that there's always ways to make learning more fun (like by singing a song in the middle of a video). Her commentary about the revolutionary aspect of foraging as a Black woman is on point.

Leah Penniman: Leah is the founding co-director of Soul Fire Farm, a Black and Indigenous-led regenerative community farm in Grafton, NY. She is also the author of the book Farming While Black. Her knowledge of how healthy ecosystems work, her ability to articulate issues of racism and injustice in the food system, and her work in education and advocacy are things I aspire to every day.

Erika Simms

Erika is a Vancouver native who loves gardening and good food. Her passions arose from the time spent with her father in the family garden. For many years she worked as a chef with a focus on fresh, organic, and local ingredients. While working in food security, she developed a seed library and taught many gardening workshops. Currently, she is working at West Coast Seeds as the Community Roots Program Coordinator. She is inspired by charities, schools, and non-profit organizations that promote an interest in local foods and support their communities. Erika has even volunteered for the Growing Chefs classroom program! We feel so lucky to have the support of her and West Coast Seeds.

What is your earliest food-related memory?

My grandmother baked beautiful cakes that had a special buttercream icing and homemade marzipan figures on top.

Do you have a garden at home? What do you like to grow?

Yes, I have raised bed gardens and containers. I have some small fruit trees and berry bushes. I grow peas, beans, lettuce, Asian greens, shallots and many types of herbs. My goal is to try something new each year. This year I will try growing celeriac.

How do you help to support and lift up other women in food and agriculture?

As part of my role as Community Roots Program Coordinator at West Coast Seeds (WCS), I support many communities through our Seed Donation Program. WCS donates to several organizations managed by women. Personally, I buy the produce of two local women farmers in Richmond. They are an inspiration to me because of their dedication and hard work.

Who are your favourite women role models in food and agriculture?

There are so many women who work hard in the food and agriculture field that it is difficult to decide. I choose these role models because they work hard and are avid supporters of their communities.

• Arzeena Hamir, Amara Farm (Courtenay, BC)

• Kimi Hendess, Sweet Digz Farm (Richmond, BC)

• Kareno Hawbolt, Sweet Digz Farm (Richmond, BC)

Natasha Sawyer

Chef Tasha Sawyer has been a chef for the last 13 years, and an avid forager since she was a child. She is passionate about local ingredients, is a champion for good food, and is a dedicated culinary educator. She is driven by her passion for food and dedication to food security. For her, food is fundamental to building and sustaining community, and integral to creating connections across diverse communities. She is currently a Chef-in-Residence with the LunchLAB program, as well as a casual instructor at Vancouver Community College. In addition, you can often find her doing dinner pop-ups and catering. 

 What is your earliest food-related memory?

One of my earliest food related memories is playing with my little toy kitchen with mini pots and pans. My mom would give me slices of carrot and raw rice to play with so I could pretend to be cooking. Sometimes I would crunch the grains of raw rice and be really disappointed I couldn’t cook at the real stove. 

How do you help to support and lift up other women in food and agriculture?

In my efforts to support women in food and agriculture, I prefer to work at a grassroots level. In my role as a culinary instructor, I do my best to nurture young women, especially women who show an interest in going into the culinary industry. I have been a resource, consultant,  and champion for women starting independent businesses, and promote those businesses through event collaboration. 

Do you have a garden at home? What do you like to grow?

I have had a garden at home for the last 5 years, and it's one of my greatest pleasures. I grow herbs; thyme, oregano, chives, and rosemary. The rosemary lives through the winter, which is incredible. I change up what I plant every year, but I particularly love to grow squash, beets, and collard greens. Those vegetables make me particularly happy. 

Who are your favourite women role models in food and agriculture?

There are so many awe-inspiring women at the forefront of shaping food and agriculture. One of my mentors is Chef Andrea Carlson. She is the co-owner of 3 restaurants here in Vancouver, and is a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement in BC. I admire her dedication to local farmers and organic food, as well as her endless creativity. Asha Wheeldon, the founder of Kula Foods is another extraordinary food pioneer here in BC. Her food activism and promotion of Afro-Vegan cuisine moves me, and I really hope to work with her one day. 

Annamarie Klippenstein

Annamarie is co-owner of Klippers Organic Acres. This 60-acre farm was started in 2001 by herself and her husband Kevin. Annamarie grew up on a certified organic farm in Chilliwack, BC as the third oldest of Hans and Mary Forstbauer’s 12 children. Growing up dyslexic in the 90s was hard, but with the support of her parents, she learned that hard work and determination would prevail and she graduated at the top of her class. The same hard work and determination has now been a driving force in the success and expansion of Klippers Organic Acres, being recognized as Canada’s Outstanding Farmer in 2011, Row Fourteen (#1 New Restaurant in 2019), Klippers Suites, and Untangled Craft Cider. 

Having grown up on a large family farm, Annamarie knew the importance of good, healthy food. After spending a few years in Vancouver working in the hospitality industry, she decided to move back to the family farm. It was there that Annamarie and Kevin decided to start a farm of their own and Klippers was conceived. Today, Annamarie plans the crops and crop rotations, and you will find her in the greenhouse, the packing house, the fields, or in the restaurant as the GM. Her passion (much like her mother’s), is to raise her children in the business, teaching them respect, work ethic, and a deep connection to the land. 

Annamarie and her team at Klippers Organics have been generous supporters of Growing Chefs for years! We’re already looking forward to tomato season and the many farmer’s markets visits to see them this summer.

What is your earliest food-related memory?  

I was fortunate to grow up on a farm. When I was 3 years old, I remember being in the zucchini field with my dad and my little sister. She took a gold zucchini, ate it, and called it a banana...

What is your favourite crop to grow?  

My favourite crop to grow has to be tomatoes! It never gets old with thousands of varieties to choose from. 

How do you help to support and lift up other women in food and agriculture? 

Over the years this has changed, ranging from offering an internship on our farm, being a mentor though the young agrarian program, and sitting on panels.

Who are your favourite women role models in food and agriculture?  

My mom Mary Forstbauer is my #1 role model and my biggest fan.

The Doughgirls - Thuy Kelp and Rose Concepción

The Doughgirls are two long-time friends, who, when they met working in the culinary industry many years ago, realized that among a common interest in mini longhaired dachshunds, they also shared a passion for creating delicious foods and baked goods. This combined passion for food has inspired a rich and rewarding career for both Thuy & Rose. Working together for almost two decades, you can imagine how many conversations there were about the latest food trends, the oldest traditions of classic dishes, and the revelations of how to best prepare them.

It's through these many, many conversations that the passion continues to be expressed through the foods and baked goods that are shared with their customers. 

We are so grateful to be supported by Doughgirls through the Hot Chocolate Festival, and never miss a chance to grab a decadent, comforting treat when we’re in the Wesbrook Village neighborhood!

 What is your earliest food-related memory?

Thuy: It was when I was a little older. I wanted to make Coq au vin, because I always read about it. We had never eaten a meal braised in red wine, so I thought it was terrible. My sweet mom said it was very good.

Rose: One of my earliest food memories is when I went with my Mom to a neighbourhood Italian bakery in Jersey. The place was packed and noisy with locals and there were mountains of little butter cookies of all different colours and flavours. They filled a big box for us, which they tied up with a red ribbon. They gave me a green leaf shaped one dipped in chocolate to eat right away. That was a sweet walk home. 

Do you have a garden at home? What do you like to grow?

Thuy: I can only can grow rosemary without killing it.

Rose: My terrace garden has a herb mix of rosemary, thyme, lavender, tarragon, lemon verbena, and mint. Also, a finicky little fig tree.

How do you help to support and lift up other women in food and agriculture?

Rose: Through relationships in our community, we focus on supporting neighbourhood programs where food brings folks together. We are fortunate to have UBC Farm just a stones’s throw away and there are many amazing, hard-working women there who are passionate about sustainable food systems. We donate breads and baked goods to different charities and non-profit programs, where women are building community. St. Andrews provides a soup night for the UBC community to support people with a home-cooked meal. 

Who are your favourite women role models in food and agriculture?

Thuy: My mom and all the other moms and grandmothers I have met.  They can make delicious food with their skills that have been passed down to them. Most of them don’t even use recipes. They make it look so easy.

Rose: We have had the great fortune to have worked with and mentored many remarkable women in our industry. It’s wonderful and inspiring to still be in contact with so many of them. We continue to support and raise each other up in what has been a predominantly male-dominated profession. The women in our business, especially, have inspired me tremendously during this challenging last year. They show up with their smiles, positive energy, and commitment to our team and community each and every day!

A Prize Pack as Sweet as Honey!

Image by: Kar Harvey, an illustrator and writer who lives on the unceded and ancestral home territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-Waututh people. She is Tsilhqot’in and Syilx and grew up on territories of the Semiahmoo and Kwantlen Nations.

It’s February! A month that is typically abuzz with love - for sweethearts, family, and community.

This month we kicked off our Bee Sweet campaign to celebrate all of our amazing monthly donor program, the Champion Radishes! Have you heard of our Champion Radish program? For the month of February and March, we invite you to join the club! 

Join the club this Feb/March and be entered to win the “Bee Sweet Prize Pack” valued at over $250, full of B.C. goodies. Current Champion Radish Club members can also win by referring a new member, or increasing their gift!

The deadline to enter, March 31st.
The prize draw is on April 2nd.

A big thank you to our generous prize pack sponsors:

• Abeego Beeswax Wraps

• Davis Bay Tea Co.

• Decomposition & Michael Roger Inc

• Dinkydoo Fabrics 

• Earnest Ice Cream

• House of Knives

• Jane’s Honey Bees

• Pep Soap Co.

• RISE Kombucha

• Soirette

• West Coast Seeds

Keep an eye out for more posts about some of our amazing Champion Radish members. 

Photo credit: Mavreen David Photography

Please note: The gift basket contains items that are not captured in this photo :)

Virtual Volunteer Spotlight - Meet Rebecca Marshall

When Growing Chefs realized we weren’t going to be able to physically be in the classroom for a while, we quickly began brainstorming how we might be able to connect volunteers with classrooms. It was very important to us that we continue to build connections between local food champions and students, so we asked our volunteers if they’d be interested in connecting virtually.

We weren’t disappointed! Our volunteers were eager to adapt with us by helping to create our virtual Growing Chefs experiences. They have been swapping recipes, filming video lessons, and sharing their knowledge and passion with our learners online, rather than in the classrooms. In the fall we took this one step further by creating our new Vegeta-pals program, where chefs, farmers, and others became virtual pen-pals, communicating directly with a local classroom.

Today we are featuring one of our Victoria-based volunteers who registered to volunteer in the classroom with us last spring. When our programming went completely virtual, she was one of the first to sign on to our new Vegeta-pals program to share her passion for good food with students. Meet Rebecca!

Tell us a little about yourself

Hi! My name is Rebecca Marshall, and I am a professional cook-apprentice working towards my Red Seal certification. Even after cooking for other people all day, I still love to come home and create a nourishing beautiful meal for myself and my family.

Why did you get involved with the work Growing Chefs is doing right now?

I've found that I learn and reaffirm knowledge best by helping others through the material. Growing Chefs was a fantastic opportunity to explore and deepen what I knew of our food system and to share it with young potential chefs. I'm happy to be part of a program that I know I would have enjoyed when I was a kid!

What advice would you give to a child that wants to become a chef?

Try lots of different food! What a fun thing it is to be able to travel the world in your very own kitchen.

Can you share a highlight from being a part of the Vegeta-pal program this year?

I had a delightful surprise when I was assigned my Vegeta-Pal partner. I was at that time working on the second level of my program at Camosun Culinary and my assigned partner was Chef Steve Walker-Duncan, who was the Program Chair - his office was just down the hall from my classroom so it was easy as pie to get together to do our videos! Steve is a fantastic role model and a dynamo when it comes to teaching and cooking and I was so thankful to have such an enthusiastic, talented partner who infused our videos with his great energy!

What We've Been Up To

The start of the 2020/21 school year has looked very different for our schools and for the Growing Chefs program. When schools were closed in March last year and learning shifted online, our program team was able to quickly adapt our classroom program to launch our Growing Chefs At Home Program. This program provided weekly lessons and activity content for teachers to share as a part of their online lesson plans, and for families at home to engage with food literacy learning. 

Given the incredibly positive response to these materials, the Growing Chefs program team continued to build out our online programming to continue offering engaging and interactive food literacy lessons to classrooms and families at home… all focused on teaching kids valuable gardening and cooking skills!

Growing Chefs Home-Learning Program

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Connecting Classrooms with Local Food Professionals Through Our Vegeta-pal Program

The Growing Chefs intermediate program for grades 4-7 went virtual in the fall, with “Growing Chefs At Home” continuing in a new format specifically catering to families and home-learners. We have just wrapped up the first of four cohorts of learners currently engaged in this new form of our intermediate programming. Our remaining cohorts will be concluding their lessons over the next month. Our 200 home-learners are guided through a series of ten themed lessons delivered on a weekly basis that include video lessons, printable worksheets, learning activity ideas, recipes, and more! All lessons aim to help connect learners with local healthy food in a fun and imaginative way.

Do you remember the excitement of having a pen pal when you were in school? In an effort to continue building connections between schools and the local food community, as well as continuing to engage our skilled and passionate volunteer base, Growing Chefs launched a pilot for a new “pen pal” style program in October. Teachers around B.C. signed up to be connected with a local chef or farmer, and we paired their class with local food champions who registered to volunteer as our “Vegeta-pals”. Vegeta-pal pairings exchanged email and video messages and, with support from our Growing Chefs team, these volunteers helped students learn more about healthy local food. Keep an eye out for the opportunity to join our upcoming spring cohort of Vegeta-pals coming soon!

Virtual Field Trips now available for Classrooms and Home-learners

In order to foster community connections and interact more directly with students, Growing Chefs has been developing a series of interactive virtual field trips for classrooms and home learners. After piloting our first field trip with three classrooms in December, we are so excited to announce that these field trips are now open for teachers to register their classes to take part in!

These virtual field trips allow students to explore their local food systems, interact live with local food experts related to the theme of the field trip, see and explore unique locations, and think critically about new ideas… all while staying in the comfort and safety of the classroom or home.

Check out the video below for a teaser of what we’ll explore on our field trip to Fresh Roots Urban Farm and sign your classroom up for one of these upcoming workshops today!

More to come this March!

As Growing Chefs continues to adapt, we recognize that this is still a challenging time for everyone. We are continuing to listen to educators and families to ensure that the programming, content, and support we provide is designed to meet the needs of the community. Our spring primary program for grades 1-3 will be run in a virtual format once again, starting up just after spring break. Since spring is the perfect time to get students’ hands in the dirt, start gardens, and get outside, we are working on some additional materials and support with the Master Gardeners Association of Vancouver to help teachers and schools get their students growing this year! Stay tuned for more updates as spring approaches.

Introducing Growing Chefs' New Executive Director: Kara-Leigh Bloch

Photo Credit: Mavreen David Photography

Growing Chefs’ friends and family:

HAPPY HEALTHY 2021 to all! My name is Kara-Leigh Bloch and I have the honour to be the new Growing Chefs’ Executive Director. I am very excited to get to work with an amazing and inspiring group of staff, board members, volunteers, and their supportive partners, along with funders and collaborators. I have a deep respect and appreciation for local farmers and producers, chefs and restaurateurs, all who take pride in fresh, local, sustainable foods. Together, we will continue to connect chefs, kids, and communities, and promote healthy, just, sustainable food practices. 

Originally from Edmonton, I grew up playing competitive women’s hockey and 10 pin bowling. I studied Human Ecology at the University of Alberta (Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science) where we used an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to examine the many contexts of people’s lives. In particular, my focus was on the inter-relationships people have with their near environments: family, community, and environment. While completing my double degree, I spent a semester abroad at a sister school in Lille, France. This was the beginning of my love of exploring new places, food, and culture.

France changed my personal motto from “eat to live” to “LIVE TO EAT”. I jumped at the opportunity to live in a rural community with a host family that had two small children. My favourite memories are going to the Sunday marché, then making a big pot of soup with all the previous week’s leftover vegetables and enjoying it with a fresh baguette and some cheese. They crafted such impressive meals and exposed me to the French cuisine and the French way of life. When I tried my first freshly steamed artichoke (thinking they only came in a jar), it immediately became one of my favourite foods. My appreciation, relationship with, and my love of fresh local food deepened. After I graduated, I worked with the University of Alberta in Research on Aging Policy and Practice, then moved to Dominica/Grenada in the Caribbean to work with Help the Aged Canada as a Seniors Outreach Worker. Eventually in 2008, I settled in Vancouver to live in the same city as my now husband. By this time I was lucky enough to have lived in Montreal, Toronto, France, Dominica and travelled through Europe and Asia, and many other parts of the world!

It’s crazy to calculate it but I have been working in the non-profit sector for 20 years, mostly in senior housing and the homelessness sector.  Most recently, I spent 11 years at Seniors Services Society of BC, 9 of those years as the Executive Director. 

I have two daughters (four and six years old), and the sweetest furbaby, Kobe, a labradoodle. Over the last few years, I started to shift my focus and priorities, and decided to redirect my career in an equally meaningful sector to me: food security and community development.

I love food and wine, cooking, entertaining, and may have picked up the nicknames of “snack queen” or “Charcuterie Kara”. Since moving to Vancouver, I always say living here is like being on permanent vacation. The food and the activities around the city, from sea to sky, is the full meal deal. 

My plan for the next few months as I onboard with Growing Chefs is to listen, to learn, and to take small meaningful steps through collaborating both inside and outside the food sector. Food connects us all. I see there is considerable opportunity to join forces with other social justice movements to dig into and address power imbalances and inequality and move towards food justice. I strongly believe that we need creative collective action to ensure that this new generation of kids learn to have healthy connections with food and understand its connectedness to our environment.

That’s it for now, I hope to meet you all at some point whether it be virtually or at long-awaited in-person gatherings when the time comes! We will have lots to celebrate! 

Yours in community,
Kara-Leigh