Flagship Charitable Program provides grants,
resources and programming investments to schools
OTTAWA,
ON, July 29, 2024 /CNW/ - Farm Boy, a leading
Ontario fresh food retailer, is
thrilled to announce, 'nourish to flourish', a new
initiative aimed at supporting school food programs and nurturing
food literacy among students across the province.
Developed in close collaboration with Sustain Ontario and Farm to Cafeteria Canada,
nourish to flourish is set, in its inaugural year, to
provide $55,000 in grants to 30
selected Ontario schools. Farm Boy
will launch a point-of-sale fundraising campaign in-store from
August 1 to August 15 inviting
customers to donate at checkout to support nourish to flourish. The
company will match donations up to $25,000 to fund the grants. Applications open
September 9, 2024. Grants will be
awarded in 3 tiers:
- 15 grants at $3,000
- 5 grants at $1,000
- 10 grants at $500
This initiative will foster an environment where children not
only eat well, but also develop a deeper understanding and
appreciation for the origins and journey of food from farm to
plate. nourish to flourish extends far beyond the school
walls. In addition to funding for in-school meal programs, the
program will offer educational experiences such as immersive trips
to farms, school gardens, and guest speaker events. nourish to
flourish seeks to empower students with the knowledge and
skills to make healthy choices that will sustain them for a
lifetime – fostering a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship
for the earth.
"We believe in the power of nutritious and wholesome food to
fuel healthy communities," says Shawn
Linton, President and General Manager at Farm Boy.
"nourish to flourish—our flagship charitable program is
designed to make a positive impact across Ontario, encouraging schools to strengthen
their in-school meal programs and inspire students to develop
healthy eating habits."
Sustain Ontario and Farm to
Cafeteria Canada will play a pivotal role in this initiative by
facilitating the application process, helping promote the program,
supporting the school selection process, providing guidance to
school communities through access to tools, resources, learning and
knowledge sharing activities, as well as working with schools to
share their stories of impact.
"We are very pleased to be a partner on this Ontario-specific grant stream," shares
Phil Mount, Chair of the Board of
Directors of Sustain Ontario. "The nourish to flourish initiative
will provide schools with additional funding, knowledge and
inspiration to advance school meal programs that bring in fresh,
local and culturally relevant food, as well as to initiate concrete
food literacy activities including involving students in growing,
harvesting and preparing their food, and better learning where
their food comes from."
For more information regarding the nourish to flourish
program, please visit farmboy.ca/nourishtoflourish
About Farm Boy Company Inc.
Farm Boy provides a
friendly, fresh-market shopping experience featuring signature
farm-fresh produce, butcher-quality meats, artisan cheese, fresh
dairy and popular private-label products at great value. Farm Boy
has grown from a small produce stand starting in Cornwall in 1981 to 49 stores located across
Ontario with further expansions
underway.
About Sustain Ontario
Sustain Ontario is a province-wide, cross-sectoral
alliance that promotes healthy food and farming. Our mission is to
provide coordinated support for productive, equitable and
sustainable food and farming systems that support the health and
wellbeing of all people in Ontario, through collaborative action. Sustain
hosts the Ontario Edible Education Network, which supports
individuals and organizations across the province to share
resources, ideas, and experience and to make it easier for children
and youth across Ontario to eat,
grow, cook, celebrate, and learn about healthy, local and
sustainably produced food.
About Farm to Cafeteria Canada
Farm to Cafeteria
Canada (F2CC) is a national partnership-based charity whose purpose
is to transform how food is experienced, learned and celebrated in
all schools across Canada. F2CC
achieves its mission by helping to grow the capacity of diverse
school communities across the country to foster vibrant school food
systems that connect students to food and the local systems that
produce it. F2CC's regional partnerships allow it to have national
reach, while taking a community-based approach. F2CC has been proud
to partner with Sustain Ontario since 2011, helping to transform
school food environments across Ontario.
SOURCE Farm Boy Company Inc.