Community Connectors

Community Connectors help your school navigate through Farm to School programs and activities.

HFFA Community Connectors

The Community Connectors project is a pilot project generated by the Headwaters Learning Circle. The idea was inspired by the Community Animator concept in British Columbia and the unique needs of our community for support and assistance with Farm to School projects.

A Community Connector is an individual who helps a family of Headwaters schools assess, plan and implement Farm to School activities that suit the unique needs and capacities of each individual school. Connectors are not meant to be managers, coordinators or experts, but to be facilitative leaders who create and inspire the conditions for community empowerment. This is done by building new relationships and social connections and having exploratory conversations.

You can think of a CC as an individual who knows what you might not know about F2S programs and opportunities in the Headwaters region.

A CC will meet with you or a School Champion and listen to your school’s unique needs, capacities, and F2S dreams. Based on this information a CC will design a Farm to School plan to roll out over the 2022-2023 school year. A CC can help you book established F2S programs, host a food tasting day (think Great Big Crunch), apply for F2S grants, assist with garden plans for your school, or help incorporate food literacy curriculum in the classroom. F2S options are endless and can be as simple as hosting a “Kale Day” or as complex as applying for a Farm to Cafeteria Canada Salad Bar grant.

You can think of a CC as an individual who knows what you might not know about F2S programs and opportunities in the Headwaters region.

Betty Harmathy 
  • Centennial Hylands Elementary School – Shelburne 
  • Princess Elizabeth Public School – Orangeville 
  • Princess Margaret Public School – Orangeville
  • Orangeville District Secondary School – Orangeville
  • St. Peter Elementary School 
 
Karen Hutchinson
  • Allan Drive Middle School – Caledon 
  • Ellwood Memorial Public School – Caledon
  • James Bolton Public School – Caledon
  • Macville Public School – Caledon
  • Palgrave Public School – Caledon
  • Humberview Seconday School – Bolton 
 
Heather Verpaalen 
  • Grand Valley and District Public School – Grand Valley
  • Parkinson Centennial Public School – Orangeville
  • Spencer Avenue Elementary School – Orangeville
  • Laurelwoods Elementary School – Amaranth 
  • East Garafraxa Public School – East Garafraxa 
  • West Side Secondary School – Orangeville 

A School Champion is someone that commits to being the main contact/liason between a school and the Community Connector. To put it another way, a school champion opens the door for a connector to access and learn about a school’s unique Farm to School needs and capacities.

We are currently a small, pilot project but if you think this is a great idea like we do, please reach out so we can add your school to our list “Community Connector Considerations”  f2s@hffa.ca
Need help registering, please reach out!
Click here for hands on tools for teaching science through food

Impact

2023

January

  • HFFA website updated to support CC program 
  • Reached out to 16 area schools to share about the CC program
  • Supported 4 applications for Whole Kids Foundation garden grants
  • Printed information postcards and business cards to help spread the word about our CC project.

February

  • Established indoor growing stations in 3 schools
  • Added 3 schools to F2CC map and to our Big Fresh Goal
  • Provided information on numerous grants and fundraising options available to schools for Farm to School activities such as gardens, bees, chickens, greenhouse, cooking, etc.
  • Presented information on Farm to School activities at parent council meetings at 2 schools

March

  • 1230 apples delivered to 3 UGDSB schools for the Great Big Crunch 
  • New CC for Caledon area hired
  • Supported exploratory discussions for gardens at 3 schools
  • Connected with area schools pursuing hydro and/or aquaponics – shared info with other schools
  • Visited grow tower at local school
  • Promoted Seedy Saturday events to area schools

April

  • Delivered a 6 week whole foods cooking program at Princess Margaret Public School (You’re the Chef – a program of WDG Public Health)
  • Supported the start for You’re the Chef at Spencer Avenue Public School 
  • Water totes (1,000L) ordered for 2 schools
  • Established school discount at 10&10 Garden Centre for plants and soil
  • CC program shared at Food & Friends coordinators meeting 
  • Reached out to all 50+ Dufferin and Caledon schools to share about the CC program
  • Networked with Farm to School programs in other provinces (e.g. Zoom, classes with the BC Garden Mentorship program and with Little Green Sprouts/Thumbs program in Manitoba)
  • Liaise with non-school Community Garden administrators

May

  • Veg Trugs delivered to Centennial Hylands Elementary School and Centennial Hylands YMCA Child Care Centre
  • HFFA education workshop at Primrose Elementary School 
  • Supporting registration for the Fresh From The Farm fundraiser
  • Established school discount for plants at Fiddlefoot Farm and local nursery
  • Compost soil and wood ordered to revitalize garden beds at 2 schools
  • Provided guidance on spring planting and low maintenance crops for fall harvesting
  • Networked with other community gardens on school property within the Upper Grand District School Board
 

June

  • Fun Food Days 
  • Helping school gardens find watering support over the summer 

  • Provided guidance to school gardens seeking new community members (did at PEP)

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