Vancouver Area Regional Hub

School District
38, 39, 44, 45, 48, and all of the First Nations, Independent, and Francophone schools in the geographic region.

Community Animator
Megan Viszlai
megan.viszlai@nullfarmtoschoolbc.ca

About the Hub
Schools in Vancouver have grown, prepared and served local food with students for many years. These efforts have been supported by a wide variety of local organizations for decades. Between 2009 to 2015, the Think&EatGreen@School project out of UBC convened a diverse community of learners in community-engaged scholarship, investigating ways to create a more healthy, sustainable school food system within the Vancouver School Board.

Since 2010 a network of community organizations called the Vancouver School Food Network has supported professional development in the region and connected community practitioners and leaders. It was around this time that the Vancouver Region Farm to School Steering Committee also came together as a collective of organizations seeking funding support for further grants, projects and an evaluation for Farm to School in the region. At the time, Farm to School was very much seen as a salad bar program and therefore was seen as a parallel movement alongside the Vancouver School Food Network.

Over the last five-plus years, the Farm to School movement has taken shape within a much broader and comprehensive framework that can see all of the work of partner organizations within the Vancouver School Food Network’s work as contributing expertise, resources and funding to schools within the core elements of a comprehensive Farm to School program. The Farm to School Vancouver Area Regional Hub is now working with Farm to School stakeholders and schools to unite our shared vision of healthy, local, sustainable food on the plates and minds of all students. The F2SVA encompasses the following school districts: Richmond, Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the Sea to Sky.

The Vancouver Area Regional Hub for Farm to School BC is currently governed by a core Advisory Committee of representatives from: Vancouver Coastal Health, the Vancouver Board of Education, the North Vancouver School District, and Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society. The Committee meets two to three times per year, to provide input and context on key decisions and issues. Our regional Community Animator actively participates in school food networks and meetings, working to liaise between and connect diverse stakeholders while communicating the shared vision and purpose behind our work. We help connect schools to community partners and promote a narrative and vision of Farm to School Programming in the region.

About the Community Animator
Megan (she/her) grew up in the Okanagan Valley, and is now grateful to call the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations home while living in Vancouver. She brings a passion for building sustainable and equitable communities and has an academic background in urban planning, agriculture, and policy. Megan believes that food nourishes not just our bodies, but our lives and communities, and plays an essential role in bringing people together. From early memories of eating fresh peas straight from her grandma’s garden, to exploring the diverse food scene in the region whenever she can, food and all its nuance has always been an over-arching theme in her life. In her free time, Megan loves exploring new cafes, playing board games, and spending quality time with her two kitties.