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LETTERS: Students learn importance of food

October is Farm to School Month across Canada and the U.S.
9018758_web1_170815-SNM-M-Letters

October is Farm to School Month across Canada and the U.S.

More than 1,100 Canadian schools with more than 755,000 students are participating in a wide variety of Farm to School programs, increasing food literacy while supporting local healthy food systems.

In Sooke, Edward Milne Community School students from grades 9 to 12 have been connecting to local healthy food in a wide variety of ways.

Students have been hard at work in our bountiful school garden, harvesting produce, herbs, and tree fruits for use in foods and culinary classes. Some of our produce was fortunate enough to receive ribbons at this year’s Sooke Fall Fair. Connecting hands-on learning with local farms adds another dimension to our programs.

The Food Rescue Project has also been supplying our school with wonderful produce from grocery stores and nearby farms that would otherwise have been bound for the compost bin.

Students are learning about the complex relationships we have with our food, as well as connections to our environment, culture, community, and economy.

Other schools in our region are also hard at work in the garden, establishing relationships with local farms, and creating experiential learning through food systems education.

Recently, we were excited to use local pumpkins, gleaned apples, and school grown quince, as well as other ingredients, in our cooking and baking leading up to Thanksgiving Day.

Patrick Gale, Sooke