Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan has always engaged in partnerships where possible to grow our level of influence. Some of the most meaningful partnerships are with students, educators, and community members who are eager to learn more about their journey with food and agriculture. Over the past year, we’ve deepened our relationships with organizations and institutions that share our love of food and how it’s grown.
Our work with Agriculture in the Classroom continues to be a rewarding collaboration. This past year the virtual farm tour on Clinton Monchuk’s farm, reached almost 13,000 students and 1,400 teachers across Canada. By bringing accurate, engaging agricultural content to Saskatchewan students at a young age, we’re helping shape a generation that sees farmers not as a distant part of the food system, but as neighbours and stewards of the land they depend on. These impressions at a young age help form a better understanding of agriculture, that we hope lasts a lifetime.
We’ve also been welcomed into lecture halls at the University of Saskatchewan, speaking directly with agriculture and nutrition students. These are future agrologists, dietitians, veterinarians, and food scientists, professionals who will spend their careers influencing how others think about food and farming. Connecting with them while they’re still forming their perspectives is an incredible opportunity, and the conversations we have in those rooms are genuinely two-way.
Our farm tours for nutrition students bring that learning off the page and into the real world. There’s something that happens when someone who has never set foot on a farm stands in a field, meets active farmers and sees the care and effort that goes into producing their food. Skepticism softens and their level of trust in agriculture grows. This shift in understanding is exactly what Farm & Food Care is working to achieve.
Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan also had the opportunity to collaborate with CHEP Good Food Inc. this spring. This organization gives young people the resources and hands-on experiences they need to learn how to cook and develop real relationships with food. FFC SK helped out with tour planning and Clinton Monchuk attended their Good Food Youth Leaders Tour. Bringing youth out to see where their ingredients actually come from adds a new perspective to their learning.
These partnerships are doing something bigger than any single event or lecture could accomplish on its own. They’re building a network. This is a network of informed, engaged people across Saskatchewan who understand and respect the work our farm families do every day. It also gives people a connection where they can ask questions about food production and where FFC SK can learn more about consumer perspectives. As we move forward, we will continue to forge these and new partnerships to build trust in food and farming.