Are you a teacher looking to connect your students to the environment? Looking for ways to show them why the growing things around them and us are part of life, and vital to our life? Do you want to show them how they can participate in growing the food that they eat?

If you said yes to any of these, then FoodShare would like to introduce you to... The Garden and Food Curriculum Working Group (GAFCWG)!

The GAFCWG is a collaborative network of organizations and individuals, mainly based in the GTA, doing school food garden education. Members and participants not only include those from founding organizations (FoodShare, Green Thumbs Growing Kids, The Stop Community Food Centre, Evergreen and EcoSchools), but also interested teachers, parents and school community members.

Objectives of the GAFCWG are:

• To develop curriculum-linked activities complementary to the Ontario School curriculum
  
• To provide relevant and accessible garden and food activities
  
• To share and collaborate on ideas and projects related to garden and food education
  
• To provide links and information about educational and environmental resources

To join the GAFCWG google group for discussion around school food gardens, go to: http://groups.google.com/group/garden-and-food-curriculum-working-group or stay tuned to FoodShare's ENews for upcoming public meeting dates and links to the group's new website -going live soon!

New Workshops in 2010

Each of the following workshops are available free of charge for in class visits. Please provide details of any food allergies or dietary restrictions that may be of concern for all workshops.

If you would like to visit FoodShare for a tour of our facilities and to participate in some of the following workshops the cost will be $2 per student for a half day visit, $3 per student for a full day visit or $5 per student for any workshop plus lunch.

Youth Program

Recipe for Change - An introduction to Food Security and Food Justice – This workshop provides students with an overview of the food security movement, while profiling exciting individual, community, and government strategies employed to address access to good, healthy food for all.

Volunteer Opportunities at FoodShare – Students will learn about our organization while earning volunteer hours which may include packing the Good Food Box, working with our composting and garden projects or supporting any number of FoodShare’s daily operations. Volunteer opportunities are subject to availability and may differ throughout the seasons.

Learning from the Local – This workshop explores the social, environmental and economic benefits of supporting our Local Food System and is best suited to the Fall months.

Elementary Workshops - Fall/Winter

Local Motive Train – Students will learn the “nuts and bolts” of local food in this workshop, making their own Ontario produce wheels, using their senses to “cho-cho-choose” the local, learning about the food transport system and discussing “The Little Engine That Could”! This workshop is best suited to grades 1-4.

Growing Together – An overview of Urban Agriculture and School Footprint Gardens, this hands-on workshop introduces students to exciting programs happening in Toronto and around the world. Students will be provided with tangible examples of how they can get involved from backyard composting, garden plots, urban apiaries and sprouting. This workshop is best suited to grades 5 and 6 in the Fall.

FoodPrints – This workshop explores the social, nutritional, environmental and economical benefits of supporting our local food system. Going beyond ecological footprints, FoodPrints explores the effects of our food choices specifically. This workshop is best suited to grades 5 and 6.

Food Cycles Farm Tour – This tour is a FoodShare-facilitated farm visit. Food Cycles in an urban farm, located at 70 Canuck Avenue (Sheppard and Keele), where students will learn all about growing seasonal produce, composting and aquaponics in a hands-on, interactive way. Please ask us for more details. This workshop is suited for all ages in the Fall.

Good Food Box Relay– Your students could get involved in FoodShare’s largest program, The Good Food Box. Come and learn about where food really comes from, the benefits of locally sourced produce, get in the kitchen to prepare a snack and of course, participate in a Good Food Box-packing race! This workshop is suited for all ages.

Can you dig it? – This workshop is an exploration of soil as a vital resource and ways in which we can protect it and build our own. This workshop is best suited to grades 1-4.

Grains on the Brain – An introduction to a variety of grains, including their history, how they are harvested, processed and prepared. This workshop is suited to all ages.

Animals in the Foodsystem– Students will identify the different ways animals are involved in our food system and have a chance to prepare and sample some of their own butter. This workshop is best suited to JK-3.

Growing Food Roots – Students will delve deeper into the influence that culture has on our diet. The workshop also focusses on the different “food roots” that Toronto has with a group art piece to represent them. This workshops is best suited to grades 4-6.

Cacao Culture – Chocolate doesn’t grow on trees! Or does it….? Students will love learning about the cacao tree, how chocolate is made and traded around the globe. Incorporating the ethical, cultural, and social issues surrounding chocolate, students will learn to appreciate this treat like never before. Oh yeah, did we mention the chocoalte taste tests? This workshop is best suited to grades 5 and 6.

Guardians of the Greenbelt - Over the course of the year your students will learn all about the different foods available in Ontario, how they’re grown, how they’re harvested, prepared, preserved and most deliciously – how they taste. Please ask us for more details. These workshops are best suited to grades 4-6.
These workshops run over the course of 1 year and include 8 different components.

Stone Soup – Students will learn about the importance of our community when eating, growing and sharing food. Students will listen to a story, help prepare their own stone soup and receive a take home package for someone special! This workshop is best suited to grades 1-4.

Energy Detectives – Students become the detectives in this workshop, uncovering the hidden energy in the foods we eat. particularly apple cider Learn about the harvesting, growing, processing, transporting, selling and cooking that goes on before the finished product is enjoyed. This workshop is best suited to grades 5 and 6.

Ultra Local – Students explore local food and urban food production as a way to shrink ecological footprints. Students will get to design their own urban food-scape and grow their own sprouts, it doesn’t get more local than that! This workshop can be adapted to suit all grades.

Great Big Crunch – 1, 2, 3… Crunch! Learn about healthy eating and local and global food systems while following the journey from the apple seed, to the harvest, to the market, to the core. This workshop is best suited to grades K-4.
The annual GBC will take place on March 11, 2010. But this workshop can be run anytime.

Tour of FoodShare– Visit our facility for a behind the scenes look at one of North America’s largest Food Security organizations. Students will experience the kitchen, garden, compost area and Good Food Box facility. This workshop is suited for all ages.