Bringing Country Foods into the Get Fresh Café

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In partnership with Roots Community Food Centre, Lakehead Public Schools, and the Get Fresh Café

Overview

In 2025 Roots Community Food Centre (Roots CFC) and Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute (CVI), a public secondary school in Thunder Bay, collaborated to bring country foods into the school’s cafeteria — the Get Fresh Café (GFC). This initiative was made possible in part through a Farm to Cafeteria Canada grant received by Roots CFC and Lakehead Public Schools (LPS).

The project aimed to explore how regionally sourced, traditional foods could be integrated into the cafeteria menu. The idea originated from a student on the school’s advisory council who expressed a desire to see more cultural food options that help students reconnect with their heritage and the land. With this inspiration, the Get Fresh Café introduced country food options twice: once in May and again in June.

May:

Cozy Manoomin Soup

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In April, Roots CFC received a generous donation of manoomin (wild rice), sparking the idea for a warm, comforting dish. The team chose to feature Cozy Manoomin Soup, a recipe developed by the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre (TBIFC) and shared with Roots CFC. To ensure student approval, Roots CFC first tested the soup with a youth group — it was an instant hit.

Working alongside the GFC staff, Roots CFC planned the menu for May featuring Cozy Manoomin Soup served with fresh Bannock and strawberry freezer jam. A Grade 11 Food and Culture class prepared the jam the day before, while the GFC’s head chef baked fresh Bannock that morning. Roots CFC supplied the ingredients, keeping the project within budget.

To deepen student involvement, Roots CFC invited two students from the Culinary Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program to help prepare the soup in the GFC kitchen. Under the guidance of their instructor, they followed the TBIFC recipe and gained hands-on cooking experience.

June:

Wild Rice and Cranberry Granola

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In June, the focus shifted to a recipe inspired by The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Beth Dooley and Sean Sherman. The granola recipe celebrated locally available foods and highlighted ingredients that can be foraged or grown in Northwestern Ontario. The Roots team decided to substitute the original popped amaranth with puffed manoomin, adding a unique regional twist.

Roots CFC partnered with a Grade 11 Food and Culture class to prepare the granola. The teacher eagerly supported the project, and Roots staff supplied ingredients — including pumpkin and sunflower seeds, oats, dried cranberries, honey, canola oil, wild rice, and cinnamon. Students worked in small groups, each making their own batch. One batch stayed with the class as thanks for their participation, while the others were sent to the GFC for sale.

Once prepared, the Wild Rice and Cranberry Granola was stored and packaged in reusable containers, using the same eco-friendly packaging as other Roots granola products. Students and staff collaborated to portion and label the granola, which was then sold in the GFC as a nut-free option alongside yogurt parfaits or as a standalone snack. For the rest of the school year, it became a popular choice among students.

Gathering Feedback

To collect feedback, Roots CFC created a Google Form for each tasting day and generated a QR code that was handed out with each purchase. The survey asked three simple questions: whether students enjoyed the food, if they would buy it again, and if they would recommend it to a friend.