Farmbucks in Action: Reynolds Secondary School

Students get first-hand experience with local food, cooking, and gardening.

Students at the Reynolds Harvest Box packing station

On a sunny September afternoon, just a few weeks after students returned to school post-summer break, the vegetable garden at Reynolds Secondary School in Saanich is already flush with food. A cluster of students, part of the school’s Flexible Studies Program, are harvesting chard and other greens grown in soil bags, while another group are gathered around the wash bin, dunking the greens.

“This would not happen without Farmbucks.”

Inside the school, several other students are preparing a salad dressing for their Harvest Boxes, which features eight to 10 items all sourced from local farms via the South Island FarmHub, and supported entirely by the Farmbucks program. Available for a period of five weeks in spring and fall, the boxes are sold to staff and families, and are a way for the program to raise money for workshops and garden improvements.

Teacher Annalee Tyler in the Reynolds garden

As part of the class, students also get to take part in workshops, like making jam or pickling carrots, which also features produce purchased from the FarmHub via Farmbucks. “This would not happen without Farmbucks,” says teacher Annalee Tyler, who leads the class, of the Harvest Box program. “We couldn’t do it.” Thirty-five students are enrolled in the Harvest Box and Garden Club flex class this year, up from just 15 to 20 students a few years ago. Grade 10 students Sophie Poulin and Hannah Oliver, who both took the class last year as well, said they enjoy getting to be outside, taking part in meaningful work, and getting to be there for the entire lifecycle of a plant, from seed to harvest. “It’s really cool to be able to watch the the plants grow, and then see the harvest,” says Oliver. “Because we often miss all the beginning steps when you go to the grocery store. Here you get to see them grow.”

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Ways to Support the Farmbucks Program:

• Donate: Donations of any amount help keep the program running. Visit www.sifarmhub.ca/giving-back to donate.

• Spread the Word: Share social media posts and newsletters with friends who you think might be interested in supporting food security.

• Connect: Do you know of a great fundraising or corporate giving opportunity? Let us know!
  

• Buy a 50/50 Farmbucks Raffle Ticket: Sales end on October 26 at 11:59 p.m. Visit: vcfhs.rafflenexus.com/a/farmhub