Growing Chefs is growing. Join our team!

UPDATE: At this time, we are no longer accepting applicants.

Do you want to support sustainable and just food practices and systems? Build connections between kids and youth and their food? Make local, sustainable food accessible? Connect communities through food? If yes, then this might be the place for you!

What we offer:

  • Flexible work hours. 

  • A supportive, fun work environment

  • A chance to make a difference in the food system

We are currently looking for three people to join our team:

  • Executive Director - Full-time permanent, 35 hours per week
    Salary: $78,000-$92,000 plus four weeks paid vacation & health and dental plan
    To Apply: Please visit and submit your application via Workable

  • Program Coordinator/Chef Educator - Full-time permanent, 28 hours per week
    Salary: $40,000-$45,000 plus three weeks paid vacation (pro-rated) & health and dental plan
    To Apply: Please submit your resume to hr@growingchefs.ca and include the job title for which you are applying in the email subject line. Review of applications and interviews will begin upon receipt, so please apply early.  
    (Closing date: April 30th, 2022)

  • Communications Assistant - Permanent, hourly position, 14 hours/week
    Salary: $21.00/hour plus vacation pay of 6%
    To Apply: Please submit your resume to hr@growingchefs.ca and include the job title for which you are applying in the email subject line. Review of applications and interviews will begin upon receipt, so please apply early.  
    (Closing date: April 30th, 2022)

Growing Chefs is committed to equity. We encourage people who face barriers to employment to apply, and if there is anything we can do to shape the recruitment process to best fit their needs, to let us know.

If applying for the Program Coordinator/Chef Educator or Communications Assistant positions, we ask that in lieu of a cover letter, please include in your email with your attached resume the answers to the following two questions in 350 words or less:

  1. Why are you personally interested in working for Growing Chefs and our mission?

  2. Why do you feel food literacy education is important for kids? 



We Are Hiring! - LunchLab Sous Chef-In-Residence

Application Deadline: March 18th, Review of application immediately upon receipt
Position Dates: March 29th - June 16th, 2022, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12-16 hours/week - Renewed annually for the school year.

*Please note this role will follow the Vancouver School Year Calendar, with a two-week closure in March and in December.

Everyone deserves access to healthy land, food, and community. That’s why Fresh Roots and Growing Chefs are teaming up to help kids and youth learn how to grow, cook, and share healthy food at lunch. This is LunchLAB, a new program created in partnership with schools, teachers, parents, the City of Vancouver and two innovative charities looking to ensure that everyone has access to healthy school food.

The Position: Sous Chef-In-Residence, LunchLAB

Location: Lord Roberts Elementary School

Not everyone has access to lunch - whether students had to use their lunch money on school supplies, they choose pop and chips for lunch when their parents told them they had to make their own lunch, or they forgot their lunch at home. All of those youth are hungry.

LunchLAB is a new school meal program where kids and youth grow, cook, and share healthy food together. Piloted at two schools in Vancouver, this year, we are looking for a sous chef-in-residence to support teachers to help cook and share healthy food. Twice a week at Lord Roberts Elementary School, you’ll work with 8 students to prepare meals for 75-150. Each meal will be served pre-plated, complete with one or two hot items, all of which are aligned with Canada’s New Food Guide.

Your role will be to work with the head Chef-In-Residence to help youth to develop their skills, to learn to cook, share, and work towards Healthy School Food For All!

Tasks

  1. Support 5-8 student sous chefs (Grades 6-7).

  2. Support the teacher and student sous chefs to develop programming to support youth-led clean-up.

  3. Support the teacher to coordinate school garden produce, supplemented with supplier and vendor deliveries.

  4. Support the teacher to develop and maintain program and procedure manuals and document kitchen procedures.

  5. Maintain and steward relationships and equipment.

Qualities

  1. You have a minimum one-two years of professional kitchen experience in a restaurant or catering environment with strong supervision and leadership skills. You have comprehensive knowledge of culinary techniques in food production for large-volume catering operations.

  2. You are passionate about local food and supporting a healthy, local food system. You know how to connect delicious with fresh, simple and easy.

  3. You are inventive and innovative. You are comfortable working outside of a traditional kitchen setting and willing to improvise and adapt when presented with challenges.

  4. You are a mentor and a teacher. You have experience working with kids and youth. You love helping kids learn alongside you. You hold them accountable.

  5. You are fun. This work is a joy. You love to be amongst the vegetables and the kids, learning and growing together.

  6. You are organized. This is a new program, with the opportunity to transform school food in Vancouver and beyond. You like to keep records and communicate frequently. Computers and google docs are part of your tool arsenal and you don’t shy away from administrative tasks.

Job Details

  • $20 - $21/hour contractor; 12-16 hrs per week Tuesday/Thursday 8:30am - 3:30pm

How to Apply

Submit a short cover letter (500 words) and resume using THIS LINK. Review of applications and interviews will begin upon receipt, so please apply early.

Fresh Roots and Growing Chefs are committed to employment equity and encourage applications from underrepresented groups.

We regret that due to the high volume of applicants only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

Introducing Growing Chefs’ Shiny New Co-Chairs & AGM Registration

Merri Schwartz
Founder, Growing Chefs

Dear friends of Growing Chefs,

It is with true joy that I share the news that I’m stepping down as Chair of the Board of Growing Chefs. After six years as Executive Director and 11 years as Chair, it’s time to pass my well-worn seat to the next set of occupants. 

The best news is that I’m stepping down for a darn good reason… I had a baby! My sweet babe was born in January of 2022, and although I plan to continue to serve on the Board of Directors and support the organization in every way, my focus in the near future will be nurturing my growing bean and learning to let others lead.

I am absolutely delighted to introduce Growing Chefs’ new Co-Chairs: Brent Mansfield and Ted Anderson. Many of you will have crossed paths with Brent and Ted in the classroom and at Growing Chefs events over the years. Both have sat on the board for four years but have been involved with the organization for much longer. 

Brent Mansfield is an incredible educator, activist, and all around inspiring human. He is the Edible Education Teacher at Lord Roberts and the school-based lead for LunchLAB. Brent recently returned to teaching and has a long history of involvement in collaborative endeavours aimed at improving the food system, in schools and beyond. He sits on the Board of Growing Chefs and the Steering Committee of the BC Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food. Brent is the former Director of the BC Food Systems Network and has completed a master's degree in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems.

I first met Brent back in 2009 when he co-chaired the Vancouver Food Policy Council, and we connected again through his role running the garden program at Grandview Elementary. He collaborated with Growing Chefs for many years before joining the board in 2018 and his perspective, expertise, and boundless enthusiasm have been invaluable.

Ted Anderson is a highly respected chef, culinary mentor, dad, and (in my opinion) has one of the biggest hearts around. Born and raised in North Vancouver, Ted began cooking at the age of 16 and never looked back. Over the years, he gathered experience travelling the world and working under chef mentors around Vancouver, including Chefs Don Letendre and David Hawksworth. These days, Ted works as the JOEY Restaurant Group’s Executive Chef of Multi-brand, and is tasked with creating cool new menu items and mentoring the group’s chefs.

I first met Ted when we both worked as young cooks at C Restaurant in 2005, and I’ve had the privilege to see him grow into the leader he is today. Ted was one of our very first classroom volunteers in 2007, and has supported Growing Chefs as a volunteer, a From Farms to Forks Gala contributor, and finally, by joining the board in 2018. 

I have utmost confidence in Brent and Ted to take over as Co-Chairs, and I’m sure all of you will come to know and respect them as much as I do.

There’s one thing I’d like to address head on—they’re both white men. Let’s be up front about it! At Growing Chefs, we have committed to investing more deeply in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) and to making these tenets the lens by which we view and filter every activity we plan and every decision we make. To appoint two white men to a leadership position in the organization might seem like a step backwards.

But let me assure you that Brent and Ted’s appointment was not made lightly. It was after careful consideration of their experience, abilities, insights, and their direct connections to the two key industries we serve—education and culinary—that we determined they were the two best people for the job. Both men are compassionate, humble, insightful, knowledgeable, and committed to JEDI. They see their role as Chairs as an opportunity to increase JEDI at Growing Chefs and to pave the way for a succession of more diverse Chairs in the future.

I’m incredibly proud of the work Brent and Ted have already done in their first few months of leadership, and I hope you’ll join me in wishing them all the best. I can’t wait to see more!

Sincerely,

Merri Schwartz
Founder, Growing Chefs

2021 Annual General Meeting

March 27th, 2022 at 1:00pm
Location: Online via Zoom

After our AGM, join us to learn more about commissary kitchens! What is a commissary kitchen, and what is their role in our community food systems? Learn from Amrit Maharaj at COHO Commissary Collective, Trixie Ling from Flavours of Hope, and Marc Wandler from Susgrainable about ghost kitchens, the strength of commissary communities, and barriers facing small food producers in cities like Vancouver.

Bee-friend us this February/March

Image by: Lou Dahl. Lou loves capturing the natural world in visual form, and finding the unique in the common. You can explore more of her illustration, photography, and design work at www.loudahl.com or @loudahlillustration.

We are buzzing to announce our 2nd Annual Bee Sweet campaign to celebrate our amazing monthly donors, the Champion Radishes! For the months of February and March, we invite you to join the club! 

Champion Radishes give monthly to Growing Chefs and provide us with a steady stream of income. This income keeps our hive running sustainably, facilitates program planning and implementation, and lowers administrative costs. We are starting this campaign with 101 Champion Radishes and we hope to get to 115 by the end of 2022.

 Join the club bee-fore March 31st and bee entered to win the “Bee Sweet Prize Pack” valued at over $250, full of Bee.C. goodies. Current Champion Radish Club members can also win by referring a new member, or increasing their monthly gift! 

Give us a hive-five and join our community of monthly donors today. It would bee sweet if you’d joined us!

Deadline to enter: March 31st at midnight
Prize draw: April 1st

, ,

Aw Shucks! A Valentine's LunchLAB fundraiser

, ,

PresentED by Growing Chefs and Fresh Roots

Shell-ebrate Valentine’s Day with your favourite bi-valventine! Join Growing Chefs and Fresh Roots for a tasty evening of shucking, slurping, and learning in style with our friends at Organic Ocean. Ticket holders will be treated to everything needed to enjoy a tasty and educational hour together online featuring one dozen sustainably harvested oysters from Organic Ocean paired with your choice of wine from Mission Hill Family Estate or beer from Persephone Brewing. Plus, you'll also get your own oyster shucking knife!

This event is in support of LunchLAB, an innovative program changing the narrative about school lunch! Learning with their teacher and chef-in-residence, student chefs help create the menu, prepare the meal, and serve it to their peers. It’s an exercise in learning and sharing, and it’s delicious.

The world is your oyster!

When: February 14, 2022 7:00pm to 8:00pm (PST)
Where: Online via Zoom
Buy your tickets here before the shell out!

All guests must be available to pick up on Sunday, February 13th between noon and 4:00pm (PST) at the Italian Cultural Centre at 3075 Slocan St in Vancouver.

We are Hiring! - Victoria Program Coordinator Job Posting

Growing Chefs is hiring! 

We are currently looking for a Victoria Program Coordinator to join our team. 

Do you want to support healthy, sustainable, and just food practices and systems? Improve the health and nutrition of kids and youth? Make local, sustainable food accessible? Connect communities through food? If yes, then this might be the place for you! 

What we offer:

  • A supportive, collaborative, fun, and flexible work environment

  • Opportunity to develop and expand your skills

  • A chance to make a difference in the food system

Position Summary: In this key support role, the Victoria Program Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring the Growing Chefs Classroom Gardening and Cooking Program runs smoothly and efficiently within the Greater Victoria area. The Program Coordinator acts as a point of contact between Growing Chefs classroom volunteers, classroom teachers, school administrators, and the Growing Chefs Program staff. This role reports directly to the Growing Chefs Program Director. By supporting the Classroom Gardening and Cooking Program, the Victoria Program Coordinator will help Growing Chefs deliver hands-on food literacy education to transform the way kids eat and the way they think about food. 

Tasks: Tasks will be specific to the Growing Chefs programs and activities in the Greater Victoria area. The Program Coordinator will assist the Program Director with program delivery, program-related administrative duties, Victoria program communications, community building, and fundraising, as well as day-to-day tasks. This position will require some travel and transportation of program equipment throughout the Greater Victoria region to designated schools and program activities. 

Availability: The Victoria Program Coordinator must be available during program hours, which are 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Monday to Friday and to attend biweekly check-ins with the main Vancouver office.  This position involves providing ongoing support and supervision to volunteer teams as well as direct delivery of food literacy programming to children and families.  

Timing and Compensation: This position is a permanent hourly position at approximately 10-16 hours/week—work schedule will vary depending on needs of designated schools and time of year. Hours also may occasionally include evenings and weekends. Compensation for this role is $21/hr, plus vacation pay of 6%. Expected start date: Feb 7th, 2022.

Responsibilities include: 

Victoria Program: 

  • Coordinate volunteer recruitment, training, and management, including but not limited to answering volunteer and teacher inquiries, calling volunteer candidates and volunteer references, organizing volunteer and teacher data. 

  • Lead volunteer training and teacher orientation, and assist with the development of volunteer and teacher resources. 

  • Coordinate the set-up and delivery of volunteer and teacher orientation sessions including finding and booking space, sending out communications, and ensuring all materials are prepared. 

  • Provide ongoing assistance and support to volunteer teams in planning and delivering the Growing Chefs lessons.  

  • Act as a liaison between volunteers, teachers, and Growing Chefs staff. 

  • Help manage any problems or challenges experienced by volunteer teams or participating teachers and report any issues to the Growing Chefs Program Director. 

  • Increase awareness of Growing Chefs within the designated communities and in each of the program schools. 

  • Help generate Victoria-specific content for social media sites, online postings, blog, and website and to promote the activities of the Victoria program.

  • Help coordinate pro-bono photography services and media for the Victoria classroom program. 

  • Build relationships with the local school districts and school food networks.

  • Act as Growing Chefs representative on Vancouver Island partner networks and groups.

  • Become familiar with the school schedules, school policies, physical layout, access issues, and school emergency procedures.

  • Coordinate, organize, set up, deliver, and maintain program equipment. 

  • Help with the coordination of volunteer appreciation events and volunteer recognition activities. 

  • Aid in the development and delivery of food literacy workshops for community groups and partners.

  • Perform other duties, as needed. 

Victoria Administration: 

  • Assist with Victoria program administrative duties, such as tracking volunteer and teacher registrations, collecting volunteer and teacher contact information, ensuring proper criminal and reference checks are completed, collecting volunteer expense forms and receipts, and ensuring all Victoria program data is up to date.  

  • Assist with day-to-day operations, including bookkeeping, reporting, scheduling, filing, and data entry related to volunteers and general administration. 

  • Assist with entry and upkeep of all Victoria volunteer and school information in Salesforce. 

  • Ensure criminal record checks and reference checks are completed for all Victoria volunteers.

  • Submit budget/expense reports to Growing Chefs monthly (or as needed). 

  • Perform other duties as required. 

Victoria Community Outreach: 

  • Participate in and assist with coordinating Growing Chefs community outreach workshops and community events. 

  • Attend community outreach events and host Growing Chefs outreach tables and festival booths. 

  • Perform other duties as required. 

Other: 

  • With the support of the Growing Chefs fundraising and communications staff: 

  • Assist with program donations. (both financial and in-kind) All fundraising opportunities need to be approved by Growing Chefs 

Additional skills an asset:

  • Experience working with SalesForce (or other CRM database)

  • Experience teaching or facilitating

  • FoodSafe certification

  • An understanding of data management and basic bookkeeping

  • Driver’s License 

  • Existing connections in the local restaurant and food industry

References and a criminal record check related to working with children will be required. Growing Chefs encourages all those interested to apply. So if you think you have what it takes, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch. We’d love to hear from you and see if you could be a great fit. 

To apply:

Interested in joining our team? Please send resume and cover letter to hr@growingchefs.ca by Jan 28th to apply.

We thank all applicants who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

A Year at Growing Chefs - 2021 Year in Review

2021 has been an exciting year at Growing Chefs! And we want to share with you how our year has gone.

A Note from our New Executive Director

2021 you ask? Well, it was virtually, awesome. 

Joining the Growing Chefs team in January had me witness and lead a fully virtual organization and programming. It was unimaginable, yet incredible. We definitely had some challenges, but we remained positive, full of energy, and led a transformation into the online learning community. As my team says, “we didn’t miss a beet”. I am proud to say that this year, the Growing Chefs team had the best recipe for success around. An extremely talented, passionate, efficient team of staff, with the addition of a dedicated volunteer board of directors, and a set of valuable volunteers and advisors all helped propel us along.

Together, we carried out our mission as though nothing changed in our world, yet, the world has been dramatically changed from what we know it to be. We also have the best donors around who are generous, engaged, and most importantly, mission-aligned.

I reflect on this year, seeing that we accomplished not only a new face and audience to our programming, we developed a solid new strategic plan to continue to strive forward over the next three years.

I’m looking forward to 2022, to witness yet again, our small, big-hearted, yet mighty organization continue to creatively and meaningfully help B.C. children build connections to their food, the earth, local food systems, and with one another. 

-Kara-Leigh Bloch


Program Year Review

Virtual Field Trips 

Being outside of the classroom doesn’t mean the learning has to stop! This year, Growing Chefs created virtual field trips with four wonderful community partners. From the comfort of home or from within their classrooms, students were able to visit fascinating venues and engage with local food professionals to enrich their learning about our local food systems. Teachers can choose from the following options:

  • Learn about urban farming from Fresh Roots Farms;

  • Understand how maple syrup is made by virtually visiting Cheakamus Centre;

  • Visit the Sandown Centre to explore regenerative agriculture; 

  • Find out how ice cream gets made at Earnest Ice Cream

We will continue to offer virtual field trips in the new year. If you’re a teacher (or know of one) who would like to host a virtual field trip, sign up here!

Victoria 

Although we have not been able to return to in-classroom programming with volunteers in Victoria, we were able to offer an adaptive, distanced food literacy program. This spring, Growing Chefs partnered with Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture for a new way to get elementary school classrooms growing. Our new Seedlings for Sandown project meant kids getting their hands in the soil, planting seeds and sharing in the joy of the growing season, while learning about how food is grown and engaging with their community in a healthy way. This exciting new project saw 230 elementary school students from 12 classrooms helping to plant and grow 250+ seedlings. These seedlings were then transplanted by a group of students from Parkland Secondary where they grew to maturity at the Sandown Centre’s regenerative agriculture site - helping to break ground, regenerate the soil, and brighten this new community space. We love the amazing work being done at Sandown, and wanted to share it with the rest of our community. This partnership led us to create a virtual field trip so children on and off the island can learn more about regenerative agriculture at Sandown.  


Return to the Classroom 

Our team worked hard over the summer to make sure that part of our programming could return to the classroom this fall. We rewrote our curriculum to fit the time and the circumstance, and did our first ever set of virtual volunteer orientations. We are very thankful to have been able to deliver a small pilot program this fall, in person, in 8 classrooms in metro-Vancouver. A small crew of dedicated volunteers and eight joyful grade 4-7 classrooms went through this new four week program with us. Students learned how to make pickles, how best to wash your hands, and discussed the factors that influence our food choices. They even went on a virtual field trip! Even during these times, we’ve found ways to bring our innovative and signature hands-on food systems learning to students in classrooms.

We will be delivering COVID-adjusted in-classroom programming in spring 2022 as well! Please let us know here if you are interested in volunteering with us.


LunchLab 

This fall Growing Chefs and Fresh Roots were able to restart our LunchLAB program at Total Education, serving delicious and nutritious chef and student prepared meals to students and staff. LunchLAB changes the narrative about lunch. Learning with their teacher and a chef-in-residence, student chefs help create the menu, make it, and serve it to their peers. It is an exercise in learning and sharing. And it’s delicious.

Fundraising and Development Year Review

Champion Radish Club

Growing Chefs started 2021 with 82 generous monthly donors and an ambitious goal to end the year with 100. We launched the #BeeSweet campaign on Valentine’s Day and before March 31st, we knocked that goal out of the park! Now, we have more than 100 monthly donors who donate over $30,000 per year! 

Members of the Champion Radish Club receive special Growing Chefs perks like promo codes for ticketed events, entries into prize draws, and an invitation to an annual event, just for monthly donors. This year, Chefs Shobna Kannusamy and Bruno Feldeisen hosted a virtual cooking class to celebrate everything apple at our event Apple-y Ever After, complete with apples from Klippers Organics and cider from Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse!

You too can join the Champion Radish Club at www.growingchefs.ca/donate. 

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.

From Farms to Forks 

The heart of From Farms to Forks has always been about celebrating local chefs, restaurants, food growers, and producers. Now, more than ever, we are reminded of the importance of community, food, and connection which is why despite the pandemic, we chose to celebrate the 12th year of From Farms to Forks!

This year, our From Farms to Forks Food Series in October and November included:

  • Five virtual events organized and hosted by various members of the Growing Chefs team, featuring some of the province’s greatest growers and culinary personalities

  • A hand-delivered Culinary Cache for Food Series Pass holders filled with tasty treats, wine and beer, and products celebrating local food producers and businesses.

  • A Secret Menu to purchase $50 restaurant gift cards

  • An Online Auction with 85 delicious local packages donated by community members and businesses

  • A 50/50 Raffle

What a success! Nearly 120 different people participated in the various events, with half of them purchasing Food Series Passes to attend all five events. We were able to provide over $1,500 to local mission-aligned restaurants throughout the series, and our final amount raised from the community was $55,880.

A giant thank you to all of our chefs, farmers, donors, supporters, and sponsors.

Silver Thyme Sponsors:

  • Mission Hill Family Estate

Bronze Fennel Sponsors

  • House of Knives

  • Il Centro - Italian Cultural Centre

  • Modo

  • Whole Foods Market

Media Sponsors

  • Mavreen David Photography

  • Edible Vancouver & Wine Country

  • Fiodesigns

  • J. Josue Photography

Turnip The Heat 

On Giving Tuesday, November 30th, we launched our winter fundraising campaign, Turnip the Heat! All donations that we receive through December 31st contribute to our $25,000 campaign goal and support food literacy programming for B.C. kids this 2021/2022 school year. 

DOUBLE THE SPICE! Three generous donors: Peter Blitz, Ryan Fan and Jo Da Conceicao, and The Varshney Family Foundation are matching donations up to $12,500 for this campaign. 

This winter, turnip the heat on your generosity and move up the Scoville Scale! Choose what kind of pepper you want to be this year at www.growingchefs.ca/donate. 

  • $5,000+ - Ghost Pepper

  • $1,000-$4,999 - Habanero Pepper

  • $500-$999 - Serrano Pepper

  • $100-$499 - Jalapeño Pepper

  • Under $100 - Poblano Pepper

Visit www.growingchefs.ca/turniptheheat to see the fundraising thermometer and read a list of our spicy supporters!

We hope you had as exciting of a year as we did! We are looking forward to 2022 and reaching even more kids with our hands-on edible education.

Donor Shoutout: Culinary Cache

jjosuephotography_GrowingChefs2021_WEB-2.jpg

We soared through the From Farms to Forks Food Series, but we want to take a moment to look back and spread the love to our amazing sponsors and donors. Today we will be acknowledging those who contributed to our Culinary Cache, a complimentary gift bag that was delivered to our Food Series pass holders filled with tasty treats and products celebrating local food producers and businesses.

A big thank you to: Biota Fermentation, Dageraad Brewing, Davis Bay Tea Company, Earnest Ice Cream, East Van Jam, Edible Vancouver Magazine, Fresh Prep, Fresh Roots, Tempo Gin, Helmer's Organic Farm, House of Knives, KICS Lemonade, Klippers Organics, Legends Haul, Mission Hill Family Estate, Nature Bee Beeswax Wraps, Ono Vancouver, RISE Kombucha, Shaketown Brewing, Spread'Em Kitchen, The Preservatory, and Whole Foods Market.

An extra thank you to J. Josue Photography for capturing all of these images, Il Centro, Italian Cultural Centre for providing a safe space to pack our caches, our amazing volunteers from Traction on Demand for helping to pack everything, and Modo for zipping us around town! Below are photos of our team hard at work, and our donors LOVING their caches!