Public Health Association of BC

 

The Great B.C. School Food Cook-Off

An exciting cooking contest is heating up this winter for B.C. students to sink their teeth into. Create a recipe made with local B.C. foods, get featured in a new digital cookbook, and win some great prizes along the way!

Key Dates

The Cook-Off runs from December 12, 2024, to March 1, 2025.

This exciting event is a chance for K-12 students and teachers to explore B.C.’s diverse food systems while supporting local producers and processors and getting creative in the kitchen.

The Challenge

Create a recipe as a class, highlighting B.C. foods.

The Prizes

  • Class recipes will be featured in The Great B.C. School Food Cook-Off cookbook.
  • Schools that submit an eligible recipe will be entered into a draw to win a $1,000 prize. Five winners will be selected, with one winner from each health region!

Your recipe may even be featured in future school food programs across the province!

 

Have we tickled your taste buds? Keep reading for cook-off details, next steps, and how to enter. Let’s celebrate the incredible flavors of B.C. together!

 

Register Now

Download the Inquiry Guide

 

This event is brought to you by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the Public Health Association of BC, in support of Feeding Futures.

 

 

Recipe Criteria for the Cook-Off
Your recipe must:

  • Include at least one B.C. food as the focus of the recipe (defined below).
    Tip: Use the Top 10 BC Foods used in school food programs as your starting point!     
  • Include a variety of nutritious ingredients as described in the Food Guide Snapshot from Canada’s Food Guide. 
  • Acknowledge the First Nations territories where your class is located and submitting the recipe from. 
  • Consider the ease and ability to scale the recipe for use in school food programs, including lunch, breakfast and snack categories. 
  • Include at least one high-quality photo of your recipe and follow the provided recipe submission template, which includes detailed instructions on ingredients, measurements, preparation steps, and cooking times. Submission form with exact parameters provided upon registration. 
  • Include a paragraph highlighting:
    • The B.C. ingredient(s) included in your recipe
    • Why your class chose this recipe

 

 

Cook-Off Details
Who can enter and what are the benefits?

Sign up online today for this free, inquiry-based, curriculum-connected class project - we will even provide you with an Inquiry Guide to get started. Tell a story, discover and develop new recipes, and explore and connect with your local food system. Wherever you take the project with your students, each class may submit one recipe for the contest. Submissions will be received through an online form which will be sent to all participants post-registration.

Cook-Off Launch: December 12, 2024
Recipe Submission Deadline: March 1, 2025

In Spring 2025, all participants are invited to join us for a celebratory webinar featuring cook-off winners, the launch of the cookbook, and exciting surprises designed to connect teachers across B.C. with local food and the producers and processors behind them. Stay tuned!

Supporting local food has wide-ranging benefits for students, schools, and communities alike.  With a wealth of B.C. food producers and processors in the province, B.C.’s food sector creates jobs, strengthens local food systems, and fosters resilient community networks.  Every British Columbian is connected to the food system—whether by growing food, processing food, gathering traditional foods, or enjoying the meals on our plates.

Bringing local food into school programs helps:

  • Strengthen local food systems
  • Boost the local economy
  • Deepen students’ knowledge of and connection to food systems

The result? Well-fed students ready to learn, valuable educational opportunities in food literacy, agriculture and climate awareness, and a vibrant, interconnected B.C. food system for all.

Want to find a local producer or processor in B.C. but don’t know where to begin? Look no further than the Regional Guide to B.C. Producers and Processors. Download here.

All schools that submit recipes meeting the cook-off criteria will be entered into a lottery, with five winning schools (one per health region) each receiving a $1,000 prize. These funds can be used to enhance their school food programs—whether by purchasing new kitchen equipment or organizing a farm field trip to help students explore and strengthen their connection to local food systems.

  • All teachers and participants will receive a template for class recipe submissions with clear criteria guidelines
  • An inquiry guide will be provided to get you started. Download here.
  • Stay tuned for connected resources and activity sheets to be released with the Great B.C. School Food Cook-Off cookbook to come in Spring 2025!
  • For any questions or further support getting started, please be in touch anytime with Stephanie Korolyk, Contest Coordinator, at stephanie.korolyk@nullphabc.org.

This is a chance for B.C. youth to shape the future of their school food programs.

  • Recipes will be featured in a digital cookbook, which will be a bank of recipes showing diverse ways to use B.C. foods in schools!
  • Featured recipes created by students can be scaled up in school food menus for students, including breakfast, lunch and snack ideas that students and staff will enjoy!

 

 

Cook-Off Registration
Sign Up for Updates and Recipe Submission Access

Take the first step to join the excitement of The Great B.C. School Food Cook-Off! Fill out this registration form to unlock access to the recipe submission form. We’ll also send you everything you need to succeed—recipe template, helpful resources, and deadline reminders—straight to your inbox. Let the culinary creativity begin!

Limited $200 subsidies for local food available on a lottery basis (now closed – stay tuned for announcement).

 

Registration - Step 1 of 3

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