College Royal

Once again this year, we are hosting a great two-day event series for College Royal! 

“The Whole Family from Field to Table” 

brings experiential learning to everyone, 

through fun, interactive activities showcasing 

the connection between garden and table. 

A local chef will display Canada’s bounty 

through hands-on cooking workshops for 

adults and children alike at 11 am and 2 pm 

each day!

Check out our ad in the College Royal Booklet.

Keep reading for more detailed information about what we have to offer:

Our event for College Royal will continue food education for children and families in Guelph by providing a wide variety of events for people to participate in.

1. Grocery Store; we will set up a grocery store style display that families can walk through with the Canada Food Guide and choose the foods they would eat for a day from the “aisles” of the store.

2. Composting; a display that walks participants through methods of composting, how it works, and how they can implement into their homes.

3. Planting Seeds; growing a garden is a great way to continue education of food at home, and brings everyone back to the “roots” of where food comes from.

4. Information display for GCUOF; the GCUOF is a huge part of our programming and we want to educate the community about what they do.

5. Strategies for getting kids to try new things; Getting children to try new foods and eat a balanced diet can sometimes be challenging. We want to provide tips about breaking those barriers, and provide recipes that incorporate healthy ingredients into common recipes, i.e. black bean brownies

6. Preserves and Preservation Methods; growing your own fruits and vegetables in the summer is excellent, but having them around in the winter can be challenging. We will showcase different recipes and methods for making preserves, including jams and sauces.

7. Nutrition; we will display important facts about reading nutrition labels and highlight how much sugar and sodium are in common household pantry items

8. Family Cookbook making; relating back to the cookbook activity we do in the fall, we will have a family cookbook making station set up with several recipes to chose from.

9. Celebrity Chef Demonstration;  we will have two sessions each day showcasing the talents of a celebrity chef that families and people in the community can watch and then try the recipes themselves under the guidance of the chef.

Hope to see out this weekend!

Yours in food,

Emily and the Garden2Table Team

Healthy Kids = Better Learners = Healthier Life = Stronger Communities

This week Garden2Table made an amazing connection with a group who's values about food, kids, and education align perfectly with ours! 

ActiveChefs is a non-profit organization committed to promoting and sustaining healthy living for school-aged children. They have developed a program that incorporates multicultural cooking, physical activity and community partnerships. 

After looking through their website, ActiveChefs is an inspiring group. The programs that they develop are set at an affordable price, even free. Cooking demonstrations, recipe creation, and grocery store trips are just a few of the educational activities these kids can experience. 

Some exciting highlights for ActiveChefs are:

ActiveChefs by the Numbers:
2011    Founded
2,875   Participants
 116     Programs
  31      Locations
 92%    Spending on Program Activities
  39      Volunteers & Instructors

After starting in 2011, ActiveChefs has made a huge impact all throughout Southern Ontario. Working with their sponsors and through grant funding, they have been able to support youth education on food and healthy lifestyles. After all, food is what sustains us. Why not set up future generations with the right tools and information to make healthy decisions? 

Check them out in the news here: http://www.insidehalton.com/photozone/1371588

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with ActiveChefs on three extremely successful school events focused on increasing parent involvement in our school while promoting healthy lifestyles for children.” -- Catholic School Council, St. Joseph School, Oakville, ON

Food Tube

As many of us know, Jaime Oliver is a bit of a food education "pioneer". His Food Revolution gained interest globally, and he has even started a Food Revolution Day to "stand up for real food".

More recently, on January 21st 2013, he launched Food Tube. A youtube channel specifically designed to showcase recipes that can easily be made at home. The channel presents chefs from all around the world making their favourite recipes.

Viewers are encouraged to ask questions on the channel and he will answer them throughout the show.

Check it out HERE!

As always, we encourage you to keep learning, discovering, and eating great food!

Cheers,
Emily

2012: A Year in Review

This year was an amazing year for Garden2Table. A new team formed, establishing new goals and bringing together people passionate about food and education. We all come from a different background, and each of us holds a different relationship with food. The goal of Garden2Table - at it's core - is to help people, youth especially, build a relationship with food. 

The fall semester was busy with frequent visits to the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming and PJs in the Atrium. Students got the chance to see food in it's raw form, straight from the earth. They had a chance to harvest and taste fresh vegetables, fruits, and berries and learn how to make simple, delicious snacks. Each student was also given the opportunity to create their own cookbook with the recipes they tried and tested that day to bring home to their families.

With the semester coming to a close, we hosted a Charity Dinner in celebration of what has been accomplished so far. On Sunday November 18th, Garden2Table partnered with several leaders in Wellington counties gastronomic community. The charity dinner, "Gastronomy through Generations", was a huge success. Guests filled PJs in the atrium to share an experience we will never forget. Food has brought our community together through the recognition of the importance of food sustainability and children's growing relationship with food. The evening celebrated the success of brining 1000 children through Garden2Tables community outreach program. The program brings local students to the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming to learn where food comes from, learn about land and harvesting and how to prepare healthy snacks with the vegetables they harvest from the garden.

Local ingredients were used to make a fantastic meal prepared Court Desautels and John David, Simon Day, the Screaming Avocado, and several student volunteers from the University of Guelph along side our own Garden2Table team.

 

The continued support of the community is what allows us to bring students to the garden and engage them in the food they eat everyday. 

2013 will be a great year for all of us, and the Garden2Table program. Our next big project is College Royale; check back to find out more as March approaches! 

Student Price!

What's an event without a great showing from our very own University of Guelph students? We've added a new student price for our event, $50.00 per person!

Please contact Lisa Fodor for tickets at lfodor@uoguelph.ca 

GCUOF

Check it out! 

Recently, a video was made about our friends at the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming (GCUOF). The GCUOF plays an integral role in our Children's Outreach Program. With the farm available to us, we can bring the students to the farm to help them learn, hands on, about where their food really comes from.

We will be back at the GCUOF this Friday with our last school visit for the fall. 

Yours in food,

Emily and the Garden2Table team 

Garden2Table Community Charity Dinner

Enjoy a 5-course dinner with local, organic, and sustainable foods, prepared by the Wellington County Gastronomy Culture. The Charity Dinner and Silent Auction will take place on Sunday November 18th, from 5 - 8pm in PJ's in the Atrium.

Contact Lisa Fodor at lfodor@uoguelph.ca for tickets.

Hope to see you there! 

Together in food,

Emily and the G2T Team