THUNDER BAY – More colour, more flavor and more local, fresh food are brightening up Westgate Collegiate & Vocational Institute’s cafeteria and student diets this fall.
The Farm To Caf initiative that brought fresh, local food to all four high school cafeterias one day every month since 2013 laid roots for the Get Fresh Café pilot project that has made those menu enhancements permanent at Westgate.
“Working with students at high schools, working with students at colleges and universities has a terrific impact, the younger the better,” said Greenbelt Fund CEO Burkhard Mausberg, as he announced a $45,000 commitment from the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs to officially launch the Get Fresh Café.
“If we can get young kids early involved in local food matters, learning how to cook from scratch and getting a better flavor from local food, that will make the difference in the long run.”
Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro expressed the program reinforces the values of better physical and local economic health while combatting climate change.
“There are lots of reasons we should eat locally when we can and eat only within season when we can,” Mauro said.
“This touches a lot of bases. It’s maybe not really resonating as well as we’d like on the public radar but anything we can do to incent people to eat healthier and to support their local agriculture communities has broad-based benefits.”
The lifestyle has been resonating well with young people, according to Roots To Harvest executive director Erin Beagle, whose organization has been working toward the Get Fresh Café for years.
“People thought students would never eat that (fresh vegetables) and they’d never purchase it for sure. They absolutely do,” Beagle said.
“If it tastes good, if it’s fresh and flavourful and there’s some hype around it too, it’s something they’re supporting and consuming and trying. So the Get Fresh café was taking it to the next level.”
Students have incorporated both gardening and cooking to bring hands-on value to their nutrition classes while balancing the diet of the student body.
“It’s nice to have healthier options besides just fries and chicken, which is pretty much what we had before,” said Grade 12 student, Brooklyn Wilson.
“We have our own garden right outside of Westgate so it’s neat to be able to harvest our own food, to be able to harvest our own food, make it and then serve it in the cafeteria. It’s a really good experience.”
