Eat-In Ontario: |
Click to view photo album from Eat-In Ontario at Queen's Park. |
How to Make Your Own Eat-In FoodShare’s Eat-In Ontario event was hosted on the front lawn of Queen’s Park on Friday September 30 to showcase the many ways in which good food education can and should be integrated into the Ontario curriculum. 500 students at Queen’s Park joined 10,000 others across Ontario for Eat-Ins using hands-on Food Literacy activities for all grades developed by our Field to Table Schools program and some partners. With the provincial election looming at that point, Eat-In Ontario highlighted what it would look like to “Say Yes to Food” in the school setting. We thought you might be interested in hearing more about how it all happened... |
Here’s a Recipe for Change—our Eat-In Ontario How-to
(This recipe serves the whole province.)
Ingredients:
- Many supportive FoodShare staff and volunteers across different programs, plus a handful dedicated Field to Table Schools team members
- 500 students from JK – Grade 12
- 15 passionate teachers
- 100 volunteer educators, excited to teach about Good Healthy Food
- 13 Toronto chefs and food professionals who love what they do
- A large handful of supporting organizations such as Toronto Public Health, the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation, Ontario Public Health Association, Sustain Ontario and the Norfolk Fruit Growers Association
- A sprinkling of media attention from CBC, Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Twitter and Facebook
- Nearly 10,000 student participants, Ontario-wide doing their own Eat-In Ontario
- Organization, coordination, flexibility, brainstorming, mapping and creativity
Directions:
- The months leading up to this year’s Eat-In Ontario held at Queen’s Park were spent registering schools, training enthusiastic volunteers and putting the finishing touches on our fun and interactive Food Literacy workshops tailored for students from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12. With the fond memories of our very first Eat-In Ontario in 2010 fresh in our minds, the Field to Table Schools team felt confident that this year’s would be better than ever.
- Back due to popular demand were the Chefs and their local food creations, as were the Pollination Patrollers, Rotten Apple Danceologists and Plant Part Yogis to show the many eager Eat-In Ontarians how to have fun with food. Also making a triumphant return was FoodShare’s Vegequarium mini aquaponics system, the File A Sprout up-cycled cabinet sprouter and Pop Can Solar Heater. But that’s not all. New to the Eat-In Ontario mix were our Restaurant Designers, Compost Cake-Makers, Urban Chickens, Herbalicious Poets, Bike-Powered Musicians and more!
- Meanwhile, around the province (special shout out to Caledon Countryside Alliance!), students were participating in their own school’s Eat-In Ontario celebrations, tasting delicious local produce and learning about the importance of Good Healthy Food.
- It’s not too late! You too can participate in Eat-In Ontario with your school (or even at home) by visiting our website, www.foodshare.net and following the links to our free, downloadable Eat-In Ontario Workshop Outlines and “How To” guides. These lessons and ideas can be easily adapted to suit your students’ age, group size and location. While Eat-In Ontario is a great way to celebrate the fall harvest, you can participate any time!
Recipe best served with fresh local produce.
Especially for Educators:
- Interested in food literacy education for your school? Download a collection of Field to Table Schools 25 minute Eat-In Ontario workshop outlines and “How To” guides. There are curriculum-linked workshops for all ages from JK to grade 12 available for you to download!
- And stay tuned for a sneak peak of our teacher's manual - a collection of fully developed lesson plans including curriculum links, learning strategies and lesson extensions for some of our most successful workshops!
- Visit the Great Big Crunch page for more information and downloads.
- For more information on Recipe for Change, Eat-In Ontario and other activities and events
email recipeforchange@foodshare.netFoodShare is grateful for vital funding for our Recipe for Change initiative from
