Flagship Charitable Program provides grants, resources and programming investments to schools

OTTAWA, ON, July 29, 2024 /CNW/ - Farm Boy, a leading Ontario fresh food retailer, is thrilled to announce, 'nourish to flourish', a new initiative aimed at supporting school food programs and nurturing food literacy among students across the province.

Developed in close collaboration with Sustain Ontario and Farm to Cafeteria Canada, nourish to flourish is set, in its inaugural year, to provide $55,000 in grants to 30 selected Ontario schools. Farm Boy will launch a point-of-sale fundraising campaign in-store from August 1 to August 15 inviting customers to donate at checkout to support nourish to flourish. The company will match donations up to $25,000 to fund the grants. Applications open September 9, 2024. Grants will be awarded in 3 tiers:

• 15 grants at $3,000
• 5 grants at $1,000
• 10 grants at $500

This initiative will foster an environment where children not only eat well, but also develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the origins and journey of food from farm to plate. nourish to flourish extends far beyond the school walls. In addition to funding for in-school meal programs, the program will offer educational experiences such as immersive trips to farms, school gardens, and guest speaker events. nourish to flourish seeks to empower students with the knowledge and skills to make healthy choices that will sustain them for a lifetime – fostering a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the earth.

"We believe in the power of nutritious and wholesome food to fuel healthy communities," says Shawn Linton, President and General Manager at Farm Boy. "nourish to flourish—our flagship charitable program is designed to make a positive impact across Ontario, encouraging schools to strengthen their in-school meal programs and inspire students to develop healthy eating habits."

Sustain Ontario and Farm to Cafeteria Canada will play a pivotal role in this initiative by facilitating the application process, helping promote the program, supporting the school selection process, providing guidance to school communities through access to tools, resources, learning and knowledge sharing activities, as well as working with schools to share their stories of impact.

"We are very pleased to be a partner on this Ontario-specific grant stream," shares Phil Mount, Chair of the Board of Directors of Sustain Ontario. "The nourish to flourish initiative will provide schools with additional funding, knowledge and inspiration to advance school meal programs that bring in fresh, local and culturally relevant food, as well as to initiate concrete food literacy activities including involving students in growing, harvesting and preparing their food, and better learning where their food comes from." 

For more information regarding the nourish to flourish program, please visit farmboy.ca/nourishtoflourish

About Farm Boy Company Inc.
Farm Boy provides a friendly, fresh-market shopping experience featuring signature farm-fresh produce, butcher-quality meats, artisan cheese, fresh dairy and popular private-label products at great value. Farm Boy has grown from a small produce stand starting in Cornwall in 1981 to 49 stores located across Ontario with further expansions underway.

About Sustain Ontario
Sustain Ontario is a province-wide, cross-sectoral alliance that promotes healthy food and farming. Our mission is to provide coordinated support for productive, equitable and sustainable food and farming systems that support the health and wellbeing of all people in Ontario, through collaborative action. Sustain hosts the Ontario Edible Education Network, which supports individuals and organizations across the province to share resources, ideas, and experience and to make it easier for children and youth across Ontario to eat, grow, cook, celebrate, and learn about healthy, local and sustainably produced food.

About Farm to Cafeteria Canada
Farm to Cafeteria Canada (F2CC) is a national partnership-based charity whose purpose is to transform how food is experienced, learned and celebrated in all schools across Canada. F2CC achieves its mission by helping to grow the capacity of diverse school communities across the country to foster vibrant school food systems that connect students to food and the local systems that produce it. F2CC's regional partnerships allow it to have national reach, while taking a community-based approach. F2CC has been proud to partner with Sustain Ontario since 2011, helping to transform school food environments across Ontario.

SOURCE Farm Boy Company Inc.