Three years of growth and change at summerlunch+ by Joeie Schwartz
My heart is racing and my palms are sweating as I worry, will they like my food; will they find my presentation entertaining? The judges I face daily are far more intimidating and important than any adult; my critics are 5 to 14 year old summer campers!
As the new school year draws near I am in disbelief that my third year with summerlunch+ is coming to an end. In 2016, I was inspired to join the organization by the passion of founder Susan Wright, former regional director for Breakfast Clubs of Canada, whose personal mission was to extend the feeding and education of children when school was out. While families do their best to provide healthy meals and keep their children engaged during the summer months, high prices of fresh produce and summer camps put too great a financial hardship on parents. This extended break from school and meal programs leads children to suffer from summer learning loss, causing them to lag behind their peers academically in the next school year. Summerlunch+ was created to give youth the greatest potential for success by providing nutritious lunches and food literacy education in subsidized community centre camps. Since 2017, I have watched the organization expand from its original site in Thorncliffe Park to six priority neighborhoods throughout Toronto, with two more underway for 2020.
Many children are extremely picky eaters and my task as a Community Food Leader is to introduce foods to campers in unique ways until they become accepted in their diets. Every summer, the first few lunches have a bumpy start, but I always win campers over with black bean brownies. Once they have gobbled them up, I reveal the secret ingredient, and the kids are amazed and become more willing to try other unfamiliar foods we serve.
During meal times, we teach the campers lessons using a Grow, Eat, Throw lifecycle of foods, meaning where food comes from, what makes a balanced diet, and how to dispose of and repurpose food in an environmentally sustainable manner. The lunches and snacks served at summerlunch+ are predominantly plant-based, and it is difficult to explain to campers why our meals are different. We raise awareness of the importance of reducing meat consumption for both our health and wellbeing of the planet, and introduce them to alternative proteins including beans and tofu. This education often involves fun games, cooking workshops, and silly conversations about cows’ flatulence, eliciting a sea of “ew” and snickers from the audience.
Cramped into the kitchen at Believe to Achieve, a facility in dire need of renovation, I am surrounded by my team members and three eager campers playing with the ingredients set out, awaiting instruction. Every day, campers come to help us prepare and hand out lunch and snacks. These children are taught culinary skills, safe food handling, and basic nutrition. All the kids look forward to Build Your Own meal days where they are able to choose from a rainbow of vegetables, fruits, proteins, and sauces to customize their lunch. On these days, we recruit additional helpers and have them encourage their peers to try new ingredients and be adventurous with their food.
My first summer with summerlunch+ I worked in the Alexandra Park Community Center. I was shocked by the resistance of community members who were initially displeased by the plethora of unfamiliar foods being fed to campers until their children came home requesting the new fruits and vegetables they tried at camp. In contrast, at Chalkfarm we were welcomed warmly, with one of the leaders at Believe to Achieve and community member Inzinga saying “the presence of outside organizations such as summerlunch+ really show the kids that they are important and are cared about.” In all the neighbourhoods I have worked, I found that community members volunteered their time and did their best to look out for each other. However, resources are very limited, as seen at the Believe to Achieve program which has over 100 children on the waitlist for the camp. Here I saw the increased need for funding to support programs like summerlunch+ to serve the growing number of food insecure youth. Throughout my time with summerlunch+, I gained a true appreciation for our partners President's Choice Children’s Charity, Second Harvest and the generous donors who provided us with the means to provide for these children.
Regularly parents and campers request recipes for their children’s favorite meals and look for inspiration for healthy dishes. This year, I am excited to announce that summerlunch+ is releasing a cookbook featuring lunch and snack recipes, nutrition tips, and instructions on including little ones in food preparation.
One in three children in Toronto are food insecure, please support summerlunch+ in our mission to provide nutritious meals, snacks, and food literacy education to fill their bellies and minds during the summer months.