Farm to School initiatives are being adopted with great enthusiasm across Canada because of their potential to improve student nutrition and food literacy while contributing to vibrant, sustainable regional food systems, climate change mitigation and Indigenous food systems.

Since our inception, Farm to Cafeteria Canada has committed to recognizing and supporting Indigenous food systems and Indigenous self-determination in our funded projects and food literacy activities.  

To date, through the Farm to School: Canada Digs In! initiative, we have given grants to 120 schools in Canada, of which 17 schools across the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario have self-identified as Indigenous or with having strong connections to Indigenous communities. 

We are proud of what we have accomplished so far; however, we know that much more must be done so that we can better honour Indigenous peoples, histories and lands on which we all live today. 

As a first step, between February 8 and March 6, 2021 Farm to Cafeteria Canada and its principal partners will be hosting a series of virtual sharing circles. In these circles, we will invite participants to share stories of learning, prosperity challenges and resiliency within their community’s school food initiatives. 

These gatherings have two objectives:

1. To host a space for participants to share their stories of learning, prosperity, challenges and resiliency within their community’s food to school, or other local food to community initiatives.

2. To co-create a roadmap to help guide F2CC’s commitment to supporting Indigenous school communities through concrete and enduring actions. Examples of actions we seek your guidance on include:  1) improve grant accessibility for Indigenous communities; 2) expand resources and support systems to honor Indigenous food systems, knowledge and values and; 3) foster deeper connections amongst school communities.