Fresh Roots - Farm volunteering event

David Thompson Secondary School

On the schoolyard farm, V5P 1Z7, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Fresh Roots

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Fresh Roots is a non-profit society that Grows Good Food For All. And we do that through cultivating engaging gardens and programs that catalyze healthy eating, ecological stewardship and community celebration. We do that because there is need in our community.2000 Vancouver youth daily go hungry, 30% of Canadian youth are overweight or obese. On average, students receive 35% of their calories in school; food insecure students – 50%. Vancouver’s youth (65%) do not eat the recommended daily amount of fruits or vegetables; 48% of healthy weight females are trying to lose weight; 35% had binge eaten in the past year. Poor student nutrition extends across socioeconomic status and impacts the full spectrum of student lives: academics, mental health, and fitness. Hunger affects many students: those who may have to use lunch money for school supplies; who choose pop and chips; who leave their lunch at home; or who have eating disorders.We work towards changing this every day in three key ways.GROWING GOOD FOODEveryone deserves access to Good Food – and that’s why we grow it. We use our productive farms and locations for learning food literacy. We steward schoolyard market farms atVanTech,Suwa'lkh, andDavid ThompsonSecondary Schools.The food that we growis sold right back into the community. We use organic principles and sustainability as our way of caring for the planet. We grow organic food – or as your grandma calls it, food.For every farmer under 35, there are 6 over 65. And while growing food is important, even farmers need to retire. We’re helping train and teach the future growers, food distributors, chefs, and marketers what food is and where it comes from through ourSchoolyard Farm Internship.YOUTH EMPOWERMENTOur farms are sites for training and supporting youth. During the summer and afterschool we hire youth throughSOYL, where youth learn to grow healthy food, to cook it for themselves and their community, and run the farm as a social enterprise.EXPERIENTIAL LEARNINGWe help bring what’s in our textbooks to life. Whether with teachers at our current schools or for teachers who come to visit, we help to engage teachers and students with experiential learning opportunities fromfield trips to professional development. The new BC curriculum provides a rich opportunity to use our passion for Good Food and getting outside to learn all of the core curricula. Our vision is to support teachers and educators inside and outside the classroom.So come and do something food with us – help grow and share Good Food!