The following story has been shared by Chris Peters, teacher at St. Bonaventure’s College in Newfoundland and Labrador
In Spring 2021 Food First NL and Fishing for Success hosted a Sea to School webinar with the support of F2CC. This webinar got me thinking.
As a result of it, and in consultation with Kimberly Orren, founder of Fishing for Success, my Nutrition 2102 and NL Studies 2205 classes went fishing with Fishing for Success at the end of September on the North Atlantic.
We had an authentic experience. Although the day was sunny and winds were light, the storm season was at its peak. We experienced everything from sea-sickness to learning the true meaning of fetch, navigational triangulation, fishing at slack tide and cutting cod tongues. Long rollers made us feel very much like fish out of water, and one student lurched to the stern seasick.
This was, I think, a first step towards getting fishing in schools; offering that experience of the sea and the pull on the end of the line.
The heave and fall of the North Atlantic can make a pretty good metaphor for the Farm to Cafeteria Canada program at SBC. Our journey began in 2015 as a partnership between the heritage Lester’s Farm Market (LFM), SBC and Chartwells. We showed that local food in schools was possible in NL. In 2016 we were a Farm to School Month winner, and today there are several NL schools under the F2CC umbrella.
But as sometimes happens the original partnership frayed, snared by different visions. LFM has remained, and we are proud to showcase their local produce in season. The school’s Nutrition class is now preparing and serving our F2CC service. Because of Covid restrictions, we have had to be creative in rolling out F2CC service this year. Salsa and tortilla chips were a big hit. Green Monster Soup to celebrate Halloween.
Beyond fishing the frigid depths and cutting up local vegetables, the Nutrition class is also building garden beds in our greenhouse, already thinking of the coming season and the culinary stories we’ll share – here at SBC and in the community.
