Ontario farm to school challenge webinar; Unemployed Help Centre of Windsor

Food Rescue Program

Food For Thought !

The Unemployed Help Centre has operated as a Food Bank Hub since 19771977 in Windsor and Essex County with great

success

Besides the services we offer to Windsor and Essex County residents we are also the hub of the Windsor Essex Food bank

Association. We work very hard to keep the shelves full

But there is always more that can be done……..

So, a dedicated group of people with a common goal met to address the nutritional needs of the community

From this came the idea for Plentiful Harvest……..

The Food Rescue Program consists of three key strategies and resources which allowed us to establish a comprehensive program to rescue large quantities of food (fresh/prepared) to package, distribute, feed, educate, and make more accessible food resources to individuals/families in need and enhance food security.

WHAT IS PLENTIFUL HARVEST?

1. 26’ Refrigerated Truck/Food Rescue

2. Mobile Food Bank/Community Garden

3. State of the Art Community Kitchen

STRATEGIES

FirstWe secured a 26’ Refrigerated Truck with support from

Russell A. Farrow Russell A. Farrow and The United Way’s United Way’s Major Gifts Program

This allowed us to gather fresh produce around the county……

Next Through our Mobile Food BankMobile Food Bank

we could distribute fresh produce to disadvantaged neighourhoods

Our truck is always a welcome sight…………….

Our Community Garden, helping our clients grow their own produce

Our garden also grows smiles………

Our Community Garden provides 144 144 plots free to our clients

fondly named after two of our founding members

Finally We had a very ambitious plan for our Community Kitchen

Thanks to our community partners, it became a reality….

Our Community Partners

The mission of the UHC Food Rescue Program is to reduce hunger by rescuing large quantities of food; fresh and prepared for packaging and distribution to the hungry of our community.

OUR MISSION

Increased quantity of food available for distribution Increased nutritional quality of food for distribution Equitable distribution of food across Windsor Essex County To rescue food that would otherwise be wasted To repackage food proportionally for distribution To provide nutritious foods for hungry people through social

agencies To produce nutritious meals for hungry people To preserve nutritious food for future distribution To support knowledge and understanding of healthy eating through

workshops, and demonstrations.

GOALS OF THE PROJECT

NatrelNature Fresh Farms

Nickles OrchardPolicella Farms

PublicRoyal Foods LTD.Salvation Army

Serkka FarmsSt. Andrews Garden

Sun Parlour Greenhouse GrowersSun-Brite Foods INC.

Sunquest FarmsTarget

Topline FarmsVan Kampen Farms

WalMartWindsor Salt

Wright Land Farms

Adamson's FarmsBedells

Bonduelle Ontario INCCaboto Club

Cavendish FarmsClifford Produce

CNRDainty's RiceTinjen Farms

DT Enterprise FarmsFogolar Furlan Windsor

Jem D FarmsJoe Colosantis Farms

Lafferty FarmsLakeshore Veggie

Lee and Marias MarketM&M Meats

Meleg's Lakeview OrchardMucci Farms

Food Donors/Community Partners

1,700,000 lbs of Food Rescued since June of 2012 and distributed equitably to sixteen area food bank, over 50 community agencies, after school programs and summer programs.

RESCUED FOOD

With the Windsor and Essex County District School Board we began training Grade twelve

students in the culinary arts

The students have learned a great deal from Chef Robert…

We began a very successful partnership with theVictorian Order of Nurses

Chef Robert and VON’s Stephanie Segave enjoy fresh produce

With the VON our students prepare over fifty thousand healthy meals, that are sent out daily to

hundreds seniors in our community

After school meals are also prepared for Windsor and Essex County Schools…

The VON Student Nutrition Program provides 26002600 healthy after school snacks each month

All prepared in our state-of-the-art kitchen…

Current SNP Model

• Schools apply for funding

• VON flows limited grant money to individual schools

• Volunteers (i.e. parents, principals, teachers) purchase food at traditional retail outlets (i.e. grocery stores)

Current SNP Model Cont’d

• When purchasing food for SNP, nutritional guidelines are to be followed, as well as a strict budget and time often become an issue

• Additional Funds - programs also rely heavily on donations from parents, local fundraising, and community partners.

• Accountability - Schools are required to keep detailed records of program service and financial data on the online data system.

Goals and Objectives of Central Procurement Pilot

• 1.) Reduce challenges associated with the current service delivery model for school nutrition programs

• Examples - limited volunteer, program quality/accountability, limited resources, etc.

2.) Research & evaluation opportunities to build evidence to inform the evolution of the regional & local service delivery model

• Examples – youth engagement, student successes and learning, health promotion and dietary changes, etc.

Goals and Objectives of Central Procurement Pilot Cont’d

• 3.) Acts as a catalyst for local food movement and related opportunities for community development

• Example – provide market opportunities for local farmers, provide New Canadians meaningful volunteer opportunities, etc

4.) Promote opportunities for youth engagement whereby local youth for example can:

• take leadership roles in preparing, packing and coordinating delivery of food

• access to healthy meals to bring home and share with their families, etc.

Central Procurement:Farm to School Strategy

• Launched in February of 2013• 14 week pilot – 2 days/week, 114

classrooms, 6 schools (3 city & 3 county schools)

• Each snack would include: a fresh fruit or vegetable and an additional food group

• Partnered with Unemployed Help Centre in Windsor, Plentiful Harvest and The Greater Windsor Essex District School Board

• This pilot is the first central procurement strategy where we are preparing and packaging food for local SNP’s

• Budget - $20,000

Sample MenuWeek Tuesday’s Snack Thursday’s Snack

Week 1 Carrots & Granola Pucks Cucumbers & Spinach Muffins

Week 2 Oranges & Cheese Oranges & Cereal

Week 3 Pickles & Goldfish Apples & Brenton Crackers

Week 4 Baby Carrots & Cheerios Banana & Wise Crackers

Week 5 Cucumbers & Spinach Muffins Clementine & Triscuits

Week 6 Cherry Tomatoes & Popcorn Peppers & Goldfish

Week 7 Strawberries & Pita Bites Watermelon & Naan Thins

Week 8 Oranges & Cheese Veggie Pizza Rolls

Week 9 Bananas & Cheerios Baby Carrots & Bannock

Week 10 Strawberries & Baked Flatbread Cucumbers & Cheese

Week 11 Oranges & Pita Bites Mexican Tortillas

Week 12 No Delivery – Holiday Monday Strawberries & Yogurt

Week 13 Mini Cucumbers & Brenton Crackers Vegetable Sushi

Week 14 Strawberries & Trail Mix Pears & Spinach Muffins

Bulk Purchasing

Food Preparation

Storage

Delivery

Conclusion of Central Procurement Pilot

Average food cost to provide a healthy snack to one student in the south west:

Formula: (0.14/snack) x 190 days of school year = $28.

Using central procurement delivery model (F2S Model):

Formula: (0.25/snack) x 190 days of school year = $48

Next Steps…

EXPANSION into OTHER

REGIONS

Steps in getting started

1.) Written permission from school board(s), partnerships, etc for the approval of the scope for the program and to begin the planning process.

3.) Meet with the planning committee and brainstorm: timeline, facilities, who the volunteers would be, what the scope of the project would be, etc.

2.) Select a planning committee – School boards, health unit, contacts at schools, members from the community, etc.

4.) Apply for funding.

Social EnterpriseVON transferred their Meals on Wheels program contract to The Community Kitchen Program at UHC in 2013. This social enterprise reduced the per meal cost by $3/unit. 200 meals are produced per day. This provides nearly $600 profit daily that is reinvested into the production of additional meals for social programs.

Building Partnerships

• Provincial Student Nutrition Programs• Government (Education, Health, OMAF,

MCYS)• Private Sector (producers, growers,

distributors, marketing boards and corporate sponsors)

• Funders • Research

Our efforts have been rewarded with many awards, including

Ontario Food Banks ‘Innovator of the Year’

The Victorian Order of Nurses ‘Award of Excellence 2013’

to Chef Robert Catherine

The Windsor and Essex County

District School Board’s

CHAMPIONS OF CHAMPIONS OF EDUCATION AWARDEDUCATION AWARD

We owe our success to the hard work of our staff, students and volunteers

And to the tremendous support we receive from the community.

THE FARMERS THE FARMERS GIVING BACKGIVING BACK

Ontario Student Nutrition Program Contact