Nourish NS

Looking back over the last 8 months at our Baking for Breakfast series, where volunteers gathered in Halifax rec community kitchens to bake for school breakfast programs and share a meal.

Warm thanks to the Medavie Foundation for supporting these community kitchen activations that took place across the province, and to our amazing volunteers for their time, dedication, and community spirit!

Head over to our blog to read more: nourishns.ca/blog

We are celebrating another delicious year of the Farm to School Snack program! 🫛🍓🫐🥒

Students in participating schools had the opportunity to try Nova Scotian grown pears, carrots, peppers, dried cranberries, kohlrabi, beets, celeriac, blueberries, apples, cucumbers, pea shoots, red cabbage, and strawberries!

New this year, the program expanded outside of the Annapolis Valley to include schools in Antigonish, New Glasgow, Bass River and Halifax.

For any Nova Scotia schools or community groups interested in starting their own Farm to School Snack program in the fall, please contact Dawn Hare at [email protected] for more information and program support.

The National School Food Policy has been released! We are pleased about the strong vision laid out in the policy, its solid foundation in global research, and it's alignment with the guiding principles of the Coalition for Healthy School Food.

As the host for the NS Chapter of the Coalition, we are looking forward to continuing our work alongside our local & National partners to help inform and create strong school food programs in Nova Scotia and across the county.

Thank-you to the many partners and contributors who have been involved in the long-standing efforts to make the program a reality.

Check out this blog on the National School Food Policy by the Coalition for Healthy School Food

Release of the National School Food Policy! June 20, 2024, will be remembered as another historic day for Canadian children and youth. After including a $1 billion commitment over five years in its April 16 budget to launch a National School Food Program, the Government of Canada released its much-anticipated National School Food Policy today...

Last week our Executive Director, Aimee Gasparetto (she/her) joined Portia Clark on CBC information morning to chat about the the release of the National School Food Policy.

Check out the recording:

Food charity reacts to unveiling of a national school food program | Information Morning - NS with Portia Clark | Live Radio | CBC Listen Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his government is committing $1-billion to roll out a national school food program. Nourish Nova Scotia's executive director Aimee Gasparetto talks about what that will mean for the province's school lunch program that's expected this fall.

Nourish was honoured to be part of today’s release of the national school food policy. As the host of the NS Chapter of The Coalition for Healthy School Food, we are so pleased that this policy closely reflects our 8 Guiding Principle. This policy will inform negotiations of bilateral agreements between the federal government and provinces & territories. We look forward to our ongoing work with school communities and governments on systemic change for school food.

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🌾School Garden Grant available!

If you have a school growing project started or are trying to get one off the ground, consider applying for our 2024 Garden Grant. Nourish is able to offer financial support for school growing projects up to $500.

Growing can help foster relationships between community, schools, children and youth, and more. Grow Eat Learn aims to help cultivate these diverse spaces that can be used for learning, growing, and of course- food! This grant can be used for an existing growing space or to start one.

Who can apply:
- Any representative of a school garden or a community garden at a school

The application process is quick and easy so you can start growing!

Check the link in our bio or go to www.nourishns.ca/garden-grant-2024 to apply.

Join us for this webinar on June 19th, 2024 (next week!) 12:00pm to 1:00pm.

The Breakfast and Beyond Program is a nutrition and foods program based out of the Centre for Applied Research in Human Health at Mount Saint Vincent University.

They will bring us through all the exciting work they've been doing, such as creating delicious recipes for students, families, and beyond, and how the resources they've carefully developed can be incorporated into your practice.

Find the link in our bio to register!

Thank you to everyone who came out to help clean up the Take Action Community Garden behind Harbour View Elementary School. This garden is one of our Grow Eat Learn pilot gardens that we hope to help prepare for youth and adults to use! 

This work truly takes a community. A big thank you to the team who came out to help transform this garden and the Take Action Society for their continued work.

The Take Action Community Garden and Harbour View Elementary School are one of Grow Eat Learn pilot gardens. It also happens to be a 5-minute walk from our office!

We are working closely with the garden to learn more about Food Access Community Gardens and how they support their neighbours and are valuable learning sites for youth and adults alike.

Swipe left to read more about how you can help get this garden ready for students to plant in.

We celebrated the relaunch of the Grow Eat Learn program by throwing a party the best way we know how - with food and plants!

Youth and nearby communities came by to learn about pollinator plants, enjoy delicious snacks, and get their hands dirty. 

Visit our blog at www.nourishns.ca/blog to read more about how we celebrated Earth Fest last week.

🌱 Last week, Jess Ross, our School Community Garden Coordinator, presented on behalf of our Grow Eat Learn program at the Georges P Vanier Junior High Well Being Day. The event for grades 6 and 7 students brought together community to highlight various activities that promote well-being.

🌱 We brought our interest and expertise of well-being in the garden to the youth, sharing about our experiences gardening and the overlap of what plants and humans both need to thrive. During the second part of our workshop, we got to be in the sun, learning how to transplant and care for small food plants that students got to take home.

🌱 A big thank you to Georges P. Vanier JH for having us and creating a space for youth to get involved and learn new strategies and tools for well-being.

📢 WE'RE HIRING! Nourish Nova Scotia is looking for a passionate and skilled individual to support ‘Grow Eat Learn’ (GEL)- a school community garden program that is in its first year of development, in connection with schools and community groups across Nova Scotia.

Position: School Community Garden Assistant
Location: Dartmouth, NS

This position is supported by the Canada Summer Jobs Program, which aims to provide meaningful employment experiences for your people aged 15 - 30. If you or someone you know is interested, we'd love to hear from you. Apply by May 19th!

Visit the link in our bio or visit our website for the full posting.

The Blue Nose Charity Challenge is coming up quickly but there's still time to help our mission for supporting food programs and initiatives for children and youth! Head to www.nourishns.ca/blue-nose-team-nourish-2024 to get involved!

ORDER NOW! Micro-Garden kits are now available to purchase at participating schools and centres. Join in on this truly FUNdraiser and start growing! 🌱

Visit www.nourishns.ca/nourish-your-roots to learn more.

Last weekend, the first ever Food Summit event happened at Joseph Howe Elementary to connect partners, discuss the current food landscape at the school, and workshop strategies for streamlining and sustainability. We co-facilitated this event with Joseph Howe Elementary staff, Schools Plus staff, and members from the Halifax Rotary Club.

Stay tuned as we'll be sharing more about the event and how the connections and discussion can help move the school towards sustainable food access for the students and families.

Michelle Garcia, Community Outreach worker with Schools Plus, is looking for your support as she runs for Nourish in the 2024 Blue Nose Charity Challenge for the second year!

Visit our blog to get to know Michelle: https://www.nourishns.ca/blog-all/blue-nose-michellegarcia

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!
Join in on this fun opportunity to help create food literacy and growing food year-round 🌱👨‍🌾

Visit Nourish Your Roots 2.0 on our website, link below:
https://www.nourishns.ca/nourish-your-roots

🌱 Taking a moment to re-highlight Nourish Your Roots 2.0 fun partnership this year- Bramble Hill Farm. The DIY micro garden kits practically sell themselves. They are beyond fun and the best part, edible!

‼️The deadline to register is coming up quick on April 5th.

Head to the link in our bio for more information on the fundraiser or to register.

☀️With Siwk (the Mi'kmaw word for Spring) on the horizon, foraging for edible plants can be a great way for families to explore the outdoors, experience new foods together, and learn to be good stewards of the land.

🌱Foraging with Kids in Mi'kma'ki🌿 is a guide to creating a safe and respectful foraging experience with kids!

Our "Recipes for Learning" video series is a great way to get kids involved in cooking to help them develop essential food literacy skills! Each of these nine recipes is under three minutes long, has easy-to-follow instructions, and can be made in any kitchen with limited space or appliances. 🌱

Use the link in our bio to access the full playlist on YouTube!

In search of some food-safe lunchbox recipes to nourish your kids during March Break camps this week? Some of our favourite, kid-approved recipes are on our blog linked in our bio! 🥕

March 9th is ! 🌟By supporting access to nutritious meals for children and youth at school, we're ensuring more women can participate fully in the workforce, fostering economic prosperity and paving the path towards gender inclusivity. 🍎

Click the link in our bio to read the full journal article from Amberley T. Ruetz on the economic rationale for investing in school food programs!

This morning at KCA in Kentville, we took the to celebrate !
Thanks to Mayor Sandra Snow and Councillors Yorke and Zebian for joining us and showing your support along with our middle level students.
CSAS

🥕 March is the beginning of Nutrition Month™! This year at Nourish, we are celebrating all of the incredible contributions made by youth in food work. We're looking forward to sharing stories, highlighting new and exciting initiatives, and empowering the next generation of food champions!

📢Nourish is extremely excited to see the provincial government's investment of $18.8 million this year to launch a new school lunch in the public school system! 🎉 The program will roll out over 4 years and will build to an investment of $100 million annual investment by 2027-28.

For more information, contact us at 902-456-8412 or [email protected]

We're very excited to announce a new partnership with Bramble Hill Farm for Nourish Your Roots 2.0. The Micro Garden School Fundraiser will aim to help schools raise money to support healthy food programming and food literacy. These DIY growing kits include everything necessary for starting a nutrient-dense microgreen garden on a window sill or tabletop. 🌱

For more information on Nourish Your Roots 2.0, visit our website: https://www.nourishns.ca/nourish-your-roots

This year's is less than two weeks away! Be sure to register your crunch using the link below to make some noise in support of healthy school food! 🍎🍌🥕 Last March, we heard over 147,474 crunches!

https://bit.ly/3UWIOPf

Want to learn more about some of the community-led programs Nourish has been supporting? Read our latest blog post to see volunteers and youth coming together to make and share food in community kitchens! 🍽 ❤

https://www.nourishns.ca/blog-all/cookinginourcommunity

We ❤ our donors, volunteers, and all of our supporters! Thank you for helping us on our mission to connect children and youth with the healthy food they love. Happy Valentine's Day from the Nourish Team!