Local Partner Spotlight:

BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation

The BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) is a non-profit, charitable organization that works with educators to bring local agriculture to BC’s students. BCAITC is governed by a Board of Directors represented by agri-food business leaders, farmers, educators, and health professionals.

They provide several programs that connect students in BC public, First Nations, and independent schools to agriculture and healthy eating. Through their programs, students learn about where their food comes from, how to grow their own food, and why farms and agriculture play such a vital role in our society. Programs they run include:

Connecting Teachers to Agriculture

Every July, teachers hungry to expand their knowledge of agriculture become the students at BC Agriculture in the Classroom (BCAITC) and the UBC Faculty of Education's Summer Institute course in Abbotsford, BC. Teachers are provided professional development tools and resources to help them integrate important concepts related to food, the agriculture industry, and environmental sustainability into their classrooms. Through active participation, field trips, and guest speakers, participants explore practical ways to integrate concepts related to food production and consumption, food safety, agricultural issues, and sustainability across the curriculum at all grade levels.

School Fruit & Vegetable Nutritional Program

With the help of over 4,000 volunteers and agricultural partners, the School Fruit & Vegetable Nutritional Program provides fresh fruits and vegetables 12 times in the school year to over 586,277 students in public and First Nations schools. Many of those students are trying new foods for the first time. They are also making connections to where their food comes from and learning that eating BC grown produce supports local farmers and the local economies — building blocks towards a lifetime of healthy and sustainable eating.

Harvest Bin Project

The Harvest Bin Project provides schools with bins as raised beds and seed money for establishing their own gardens, giving teachers the tools they need to supplement their curriculum, as well as help students learn about farming on a small scale. BCAITC representatives will even visit the school to conduct a start-up workshop to demonstrate how the project works and get the students started with their own garden.

Denbow and the BCAITC

Denbow partners with BCAITC to provide financial support to ongoing agricultural learning initiatives throughout the year. If you are interested in supporting the BCAITC or you would like to get more information about applying to be a part of one of their programs, you can visit:

https://www.bcaitc.ca/partnership-opportunities.