T T T HINK HINK HINK & E & E & E AT AT AT G G G REEN REEN REEN @ S @ S @ S CHOOL CHOOL CHOOL T hink & Eat Green @ School is a Community‐University Research Alliance promoƟng change in what students eat, learn and do at school in relaƟon to food, health, the environment, and sustain‐ ability. By working closely with school authoriƟes, teachers, parents, and youth, the project aims to reconnect students with the sources of their food. The Think & Eat Green @ School Project builds on concepts of food system sustainability, recognizing that the ways food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, consumed, and disposed of have significant impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and our ecological footprint. The project also encompasses the concept of food security, emphasizing that to achieve food security, all six of the following components must be present: 1. Availability of enough safe and nutriƟous food for everybody; 2. Affordability, making it possible for all people to saƟsfy their food needs within their purchasing power; 3. Accessibility of food or the ease with which people may obtain available food; 4. Acceptability, meeƟng diverse cultural and culinary needs, and ethical standards of respect for human and animal lives in producƟon systems; 5. Safety, meaning that the food supply meets the sanitary standards of Canada; 6. Sustainability, meaning that the food system does not damage the capacity of ecosystems to endure and support the permanent producƟon and reproducƟon of food sources and the stability of food supply over Ɵme. Approximately 45% of food consumed in BC is imported. Climate change and other global issues affect the food system sustainability of BC communities. Think & Eat Green @ School addresses food system sustainability by enabling staff and students to influence how their food is produced and where it comes from, through concrete school projects in areas of: Food producƟon at school (i.e. food gardens, composƟng and environmentally sound and producƟve disposal of end products); Food consumpƟon, preparaƟon and procurement at school (i.e. school food programs, cooking skills, and eaƟng spaces, farm‐to‐school programs for fresh local food); Curriculum and teaching and learning innovaƟons aiming at integrated learning on the whole cycle of food systems, from producƟon, processing, transportaƟon, distribuƟon, consumpƟon, and disposal of end food products (i.e. composƟng and recycling vs. “waste”) and impacts of health and environment; Food policy and insƟtuƟonal adaptaƟon to climate change (policy and programs to support more healthy and sustainable food systems at school). These concrete school projects involve collaboraƟve learning amongst a mulƟ‐ tude of players, from university students and researchers, health and educaƟonal insƟtuƟons to a network of community‐based and community‐supported non‐ profit organizaƟons working on food, health, and the environment, linking farms to schools, city dwellers with farmers, school cooks with successful green chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant designers, gardeners, school authoriƟes, teachers and students. Schools are places where students can learn about the food system by being engaged in growing, harvesƟng, preparing, cooking and eaƟng food. Schools can significantly contribute to the greening of their communiƟes and neighbour‐ hoods through the reducƟon of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to the light‐ ening of its ecological footprint. Think & Eat Green @ School provides opportuniƟes for students and staff at all levels to reconnect with the sources of their food and to see food as the grand connector of all aspects of human life, including our relaƟonships with each other and with nature. Think & Eat Green @ School fosters food ciƟzenship by providing the enƟre community of learners—from pupils to professors, teachers to chefs, farmers, gardeners, restaurateurs, and nutriƟon and health professionals—with opportu‐ niƟes to be involved in all aspects of the food system to learn how to parƟcipate in decisions that shape the food system of public schools and educaƟonal insƟtu‐ Ɵons, and by extension, the food system of the local communiƟes and the City of Vancouver. Think & Eat Green @ School addresses the quesƟon of how the hundreds of thousands of people that comprise complex insƟtuƟons, such as the public school system, can parƟcipate in a process of social learning, creaƟon and acƟon to influence the food system and contribute to a transiƟon towards sustainability. Learning and acting to address global problems at the local level is where ordinary people can make a direct difference. Photo credits: InnerCityFarms and Think&Eat Green project