The Potential of Food Education

March 7, 2019

“How did that pineapple get all the way from Ecuador to your plate?” What does hunger look like?” “Why should our Reconciliation work with Indigenous communities include food sovereignty?” “How can eating broccoli help you play Fortnite?” “Do you need an ID to use the food bank?”

These questions have sparked incredible conversations with the youth, educators, and families that I’m lucky enough to work with every day. Together, we explore why their tomato plants that are growing beside the basil are healthier than the ones near the cabbage, why someone might not be able to access the cheapest grocery store in their city, and how the kid in their school who’s acting out might just not have enough to eat at home since malnutrition affects our attention and energy.

When I bring Action Against Hunger Canada’s programming to schools, camps, and offices, I always learn more about the potential not only of food, but of food education. When we plant food gardens in sub-irrigated boxes at a school with no green space, I watch kids pick the spinach leaves right off and eat them when they’re showing their parents what they’ve accomplished. I see a grade six student connect social studies learning about barriers to accessible food with her lesson about making informed food choices with the guest nutritionist in her science class, and then decide to run a soup-making fundraiser. Food connects us all as a universal language, so when I can show a teacher how they can integrate food education into every subject at every grade level in a way that enhances their curriculum goals, and connect them with community partners for further collaborations, I know that their enthusiasm is going to spill over to their students and school families.

To learn more about our programming, visit www.actionagainsthunger.ca/gen-nutrition
or contact Mira at:

• mlyonblum@actionagainsthunger.com
• (416) 644-1016 x205

Author

Mira Lyonblum is the National Programs Manager at Action Against Hunger Canada. Along with her team, she’s proud to run a youth-centered initiative aiming to improve access to healthy food and build lifelong food skills through gardening, experiential workshops, community partnerships, educator training, leadership and action planning skill-building, and connecting youth with each other across the country and world. She encourages you to join the movement to empower youth to grow, share, and understand food.