Food for Thought with Alex Bielak - Hamilton Tastebuds

Hamilton Tastebuds – 23,000 breakfasts a day, and counting

In my last column I wrote about the jarring contrasts one can find on the streets of our city. Of juxtaposition and dissonance: of wealth and poverty. This piece showcases a remarkable collaborative effort to address the latter and to provide a nutritious breakfast to all children in Hamilton’s schools.

“Hamilton Tastebuds Student Nutrition Collaborative,” to use its full name, is the brilliantly re-branded Hamilton Partners in Nutrition (HPIN). It’s shepherded by the not-for-profit Social Planning and Research Council (SPRC) of Hamilton and managed by Senior Social Planner, Deirdre Pike.

To put it in perspective, Hamilton Tastebuds helps deliver 23,000 breakfasts a day at 144 venues, about 80% of them schools, and most of those in the inner city. That leaves almost another 100 schools without a program. (To find the current venues see the map on the old HPIN website that is slowly being folded into the new Tastebuds site.)

While those are stunning numbers for you to consider as your read this with Timmies in hand, or online at your local Starbucks, the program is not just about feeding kids in need; it is also about ensuring all children get a nutritious start to the day.

I’d first come across Pike when we were both part of the Spec’s Community Editorial Board, and recently became interested in an initiative proposed by SPRC to foster links between the breakfast program and local farmers. So I was delighted when she invited me to participate in a HPIN event, held in April, to honour volunteers in the program. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the large crowd and chat with some of the many partners (too many to list here) who have come together to make the program a success.

To say that giving Pike a microphone is like pouring gasoline on a fire is an understatement. It might be her experience in Parish Ministry, but she MC’d the event like a southern preacher at a raucous revival meeting. She recognised volunteers, young and old in every corner of the packed room, held impromptu quizzes and dispersed HPIN swag like it was going out of style. Which in a way, I suppose it was.

Part of the event was sharing the re-branding (done partly pro-bono by a company called Kitestring) with the volunteers prior to the official launch event in June. Pike also announced the hiring process was almost complete for an innovative Farm to Table program that was about to be inaugurated.

The new Community Development Worker turned out to be Hamilton-born Grace Evans. I had the pleasure of meeting her just prior to the official Tastebuds launch at Radius Restaurant (another partner) last Tuesday. A Mac grad, she seems an ideal choice for the task of increasing partnerships with regional farmers and food producers so that more, fresh, local produce is incorporated into the school nutrition program. 

She dropped by to chat en route from picking up gift certificates for the re-branding event. Passionate about her new job, she beat out some stiff competition according to Deirdre: her credentials include volunteering for the Ancaster Food Drive when she was younger, extensive and ongoing experience with the Slow Food Movement in both the US and Canada, and just-completed training as a Chef at George Brown College.

Evans told me she always wanted to write about food and to work on food advocacy and accessibility. When she saw the ad for the job, she knew it would be “so perfect”. Her goals for the year-long contract are clear: “While Deirdre has emphasized that food procurement is the number one priority, there’s a recognition that education is needed too.”

Grace sees herself as someone passionate about food (but not a foodie: she’s not comfortable with the term), and expects her career to be focussed on the food system, food justice and sovereignty. Summing up what excites her about the Farm-to-Table program, she says it is “the prospect of food education, connecting whole communities: schools, a community and farmers.”

It’s early days yet, but she is already connecting with farmers. Grace spoke about the emotion farmers can have over food, and of the enthusiasm of Chris Krucker, who runs the 25 acre ManoRun organic farm in Copetown, for what the Farm to Table program is seeking to achieve. (It was great to meet Chris at the Radius event and to witness that passion and thoughtful commitment at first hand.)

When I asked her how Farm-to-Table will make a difference Grace was expressive. “It will incorporate food of immense quality…super fresh and super-full of nutrients. It will instill a connection for the kids of food coming locally, and will make them want to eat locally.”

The program pays farmers a good, fair (wholesale) price for produce that they might not be able to move otherwise she tells me. Tiny apples for instance, perhaps slightly blemished. “Grocery stores don’t want ugly food… Kids love tiny apples...” and (because of the connections) “Kids will WANT to eat the apple!”

Ps. To watch a video from the launch and an interview with Deirdre Pike see CHCH TV’s report. There are various ways that anyone interested in donating or helping out can do so (including sponsoring a nutrition program at a school near you), all detailed on the Tastebuds and HPIN websites.

To see more pictures, click here. 

Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info ) or on twitter @AlexBielak

Food for Thought logo, designed and kindly donated by Ninka Bielak. Ninka can be reached at ninka.bielak@gmail.com.