London Community Resource Center Presentations, Events AOFE funding

The London Community Resource Centre is about to launch a brand- new program aimed at providing London’s at-risk

youth the opportunity to learn more about the preparation, cooking and consumption of locally grown food, and has been

approved for a generous grant from Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.’s (OAFE) Healthy Eating Program.

On March 24, 2009, LCRC Executive Director Linda Davies attended the OAFE annual general meeting, Growing Innovative

Partnerships, in Milton, Ont., to accept the $49,350, two-year grant, and to provide a brief synopsis of the new

Cook It Up! program to OAFE members.

The LCRC is the lead organization of the Cook It Up! program, to be launched in the coming weeks, but community partners

such as the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU), Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), other local youth-oriented

organizations and area businesses, will also be adding to the mix of the program recipe.

Cook It Up! is a community-based program targeting at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 18, focusing on education and

skill building. The program will offer these targeted youth general nutrition and food safety information, food preparation,

food selection and cooking skills, as well as agricultural field trip experience to a variety of local farms and farmers’ markets

through which knowledge will be gained of the local agriculture and farm systems.

The various modules of the Cook It Up! program will include general healthy eating and safe food handling and will incorporate

Ontario-grown food themes for winter, spring, summer and fall.

Facilitators of each module, which will be local chefs and/or culinary students, will target, coordinate and implement the

activities relevant to the needs and desires of the various youth groups.

In addition to increasing awareness and education of agriculture, healthy eating, food preparation and purchasing skills, Linda

said the Cook It Up! program will increase the impact and awareness related to the benefits of the Ontario agriculture

industry with both key stakeholders and participants in the program.

In thanking the OAFE for the funding, Linda emphasized that the LCRC is a London organization that provides “options and

opportunities” for families and individuals to learn about growing, preparing and enjoying locally grown food.

“When this opportunity (OAFE’s Healthy Eating Program) came up it seemed like a natural fit with what our organization

does,” she said.

Complimenting the educational and awareness component of the Cook It Up! Program, Linda said it will provide the youth

with “a wonderful opportunity to connect with other community members.”

The program, she added, will allow youth to gain essential life skills and will instill in them a positive message to be shared

and carried forward, in relation to the consumption of healthy, Ontario-grown foods.

In addition to benefiting the targeted youth group, the Cook It Up! program will provide evidence-informed practice, based

on research outcomes, and will deliver a “how-to” manual aimed at providing details and aiding other communities and

community groups in the implementation of the program in other areas and settings. Different target groups could include

post-secondary students, young adults, Ontario Early Years Centres, parents, multicultural groups and older adults.

The program will also benefit Ontario agriculture and agri-food industry through increased advocacy for the consumption of

local Ontario foods carried by the participants and on the promotional value the program will have in the London area, and in

the future, other areas of implementation. Cook It Up! will also create sustainable investment through networking with new

partnerships – local farms, farmers’ markets, local food commodity marketing associations, local chefs and community

agencies.

“The future success of Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry is entirely dependent on the youth of today,” Linda said.

On top of the OAFE funding, the LCRC’s Cook It Up! program is also receiving $5,000 from the MLHU, and $2,000 respectively

from the Ontario Pork Producers and the Ontario Bean Producers Association.

Tino Breur, General Manager, Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board, said the LCRC Cook It Up! program is an effective

method of carrying the message of eating healthy and eating local, which includes beans of course, to the youth of today,

who in turn can carry that message forward to friends and family and into the future, benefiting the entire Ontario agri-food

industry.

“We’re trying to get out the message that beans are nutritious, environmentally friendly, inexpensive and grown right here

in our own backyard. Less than an hour north of London you’ve got the highest concentration of bean production in the

province,” he said, adding the LCRC’s Cook It Up! program and the Ontario Bean Producers’ financial contribution to the

program not only “assists in the development and implementation of this important community-based initiative that

provides the connection from farm-to-fork for at-risk youth in our community, but also serves to promote the Ontario

agricultural industry.”

Krista Henry, Chair of the Ad Hoc committee, OAFE, said of the 82 project proposals received by the organization for the

Healthy Eating Program, 13 were awarded funds to help promote healthy eating with Ontario-grown foods.

“These recipients have presented projects that will have far-reaching legacies within their communities or target groups.

Many curriculum-based tools and templates will be created that will have a multiplier effect from the original investment,”

she said.

In total, the OAFE awarded $450,000 to the 13 projects. The funding provided to each recipient is representative of 75 per

cent of the project’s total cost, Krista explained.

Related Information: Cook It Up! Program

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The OAFE is a not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the learning experiences of students with high quality, balanced

curriclulum-linked agriculture and food related resources and programs for Ontario educators. The organization receives support from the Ontario

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.