Fresh From the Farm: Healthy Fundraising for Ontario Schools
Posted: September 30, 2014
Categories: Edible Education Network / Edible Education Project Profiles
With Canada’s first National Farm to School Month just around the corner, we thought this would be the perfect time to profile some inspiring programs and initiatives across the province that bring fresh, local food into Ontario’s Schools (and beyond).
Fresh from the Farm: Healthy Fundraising for Ontario Schools saw the second year of their Pilot Project begin in April of this year. The idea? A healthy school fundraiser that sells fresh Ontario fruit and vegetables to the community. Modeled after Farm to School, Manitoba’s Healthy Choice Fundraiser, Fresh from the Farm is a collaborative initiative with support from OMAF, the Ministry of Education, Dietitians of Canada, and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association.
From food education to supporting local farmers, from raising funds for your school to promoting healthy eating, Fresh from the Farm hits all the targets.
In their first year of this pilot project, they delivered over 120,000 lbs of fruit and vegetables to communities, and the 70 participating schools collectively raised approximately $53,000! Year two is now in full swing.
This sort of local food support is prominent within the school community, as it not only supports and promotes local food, it also educates our students about the local food chain and community engagement, all while raising funds and supporting healthy eating and Ontario farmers. The support is direct and apparent – 40% of the total revenue goes directly to the school, 50% of sales are returned to Ontario farmers, and the final 10% is retained by Fresh from the Farm for program sustainability.
Truly mutually beneficial, the innovative program provides a unique platform for schools to raise funds, while accomplishing some other incredibly meaningful goals:
- raising awareness of healthy food choices and good nutrition among children and youth
- supporting Ontario’s farmers and the local economy
- and providing opportunities to introduce agriculture, food and healthy eating into the classroom
One program hitting several key points!
Deborah Wrack from Hickson Central Public School shares in this video: “It’s such a great fundraiser because it makes sense. We eat everyday, and we’re supposed to eat healthy food; we need to eat healthy food. So in terms of getting money from the families to fundraise, it’s actually money that they’d spend anyway.”
Fresh from the Farm hopes to grow in future years and develop a sustainable program framework that can expand to include additional Ontario schools. For 2014, 19 school boards (over 900 schools) are eligible to participate based on existing local expertise and capacity currently in place through the delivery of complementary programming.
Though fundraising for this year has already begun (at the beginning of September) they are still busy with schools enrolling now; we hope to give you an update once all enrollments are confirmed! But this means that enrollment for schools is still open – so check out the Fresh from the Farm website, and if you’re school is eligible and interested, be sure to enroll by October 14th!
Please see our Q&A with Cathy O’Connor below to get more specific details on how this program came about, as well as a few testimonials that showcase some benefits of the program (such as buyers learning about new veggies)!
Q & A with Fresh from the Farm
Funding
- OMAF, Ministry of Education, Dietitians of Canada, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association
- Goal, to be self-sustaining after 2015; currently, largely funded via OMAF; other partners provide in-kind support
How did you first engage the schools / communities? Who did you initially approach?
Support was gained through promotion by key stakeholders:
- Premier Wynne sent letters to Directors of Education to encourage schools to participate
- We contacted respective public health units; provided powerpoint presentation for broad distribution to school communities
- Broadcast to Dietitians of Canada members through various media channels
- Broadcast to agricultural communities through agri-shows, conferences, publications
- Media broadcast to public, public health, consumers and agri-food community
- Ministry of Education at various levels – Superintendents, Healthy Eating Leads, school principals, fundraising chairs
- School Champions were identified via school advocates
What did you use to make your case for support?
- Success of Manitoba’s Farm to School, launched in 2010
- With introduction of Ontario’s SFBP, provides solution for healthy fundraising opportunity
What tips do you have for others doing this kind of initiative?
- Expand in a manageable way to ensure execution is flawless
- Make it simple to execute
- Promote at all levels of the community – educators, health professionals, parents, students
What factors were critical for your success?
- Buy-In From Stakeholders
- Clear solutions in response to program objectives:
-Encourages Healthy Eating for families
-Schools make attractive profits – 40% of sales
-Support for Ontario’s farmers and the local economy
-Aligns with Ontario’s SFBP and Ontario’s Local Food Act
-Opportunities for learning about agriculture and food in the classroom
Testimonies of individual school experiences has helped to motivate and encourage other schools to get involved. All the school champions in our video have been so engaging and their messaging has clearly impacted other colleagues and schools to participate; in fact, the Thames Valley DSB endorsed the video for their Board website.
Program Impacts
Stats from Year One of Pilot:
- Delivery of over 120,000 lbs of root vegetables and apples to families/school communities
- Schools collectively raised approximately $53,000
- 70 schools participated; 20% of eligible schools
- Expansion in 2014 to over 900 eligible schools
Testimonials from School Champions:
- “…I just wanted you to know how awesome this fundraiser was! Our school families really appreciated this opportunity and from a coordinating aspect it was the smoothest fundraiser I have ever been a part of! The delivery was terrific and everything just went as slick as possible! I am so happy that our school had this opportunity!!!
Carol Sawadaski, School Champion
Lord Elgin PS
Thames Valley DSB
- “….Very quick service indeed. This was a very well run fundraiser and communication was great. It was a pleasure working with everyone and hopefully we will work together again 🙂
Melissa Barras, School Champion
Maple Lane PS, Tilsonburg
Thames VDSB
- “..Just letting you know that we have completed our fundraiser. Everything went very well. We were missing a few vegetables but they were promptly delivered the following day. The two gentlemen who delivered the produce were very efficient and pleasant. The apples were very well packed and very delicious I might add. The vegetables looked very fresh and were well divided into bags and easy to handle. Everything was very well organized making it very easy to prepare for the parent pick up. All in all I am very pleased with the fundraiser and I am looking forward to repeating it next year. “
Paulette Gauthier, School Champion
Académie de la Tamise
Conseil Scolaire Viamonde
- “…our order was perfect; those apples are delicious – I’m making a turkey stew with the vegetables right now..you will be pleased to know that quite a few people who bought the veggie bundle had never had parsnips before and were pleasantly surprised with them. If parsnips boom, it’s because of the program!“
Cassandra Nielson, School Champion
F.H. Clergue PS, Sault Ste. Marie
Algoma DSB
For this profile, we spoke with:
Cathy O’Connor, MPH, RD, cathy.oconnor@dietitians.ca
Project Coordinator, Fresh from the Farm: Healthy Fundraising for Ontario Schools
Dietitians of Canada
General Contact
Phone: EatRight Ontario 1-877-510-5102
Email: contact@freshfromfarm.ca
Visit: www.FreshFromFarm.ca
This profile is part of a series of profiles for the Ontario Edible Education Network.
Be sure to check out more profiles from the Network here!